History

The moving story of Frankfurt's Stadium Football

The Commerzbank-Arena stands on the site of its great predecessor – the legendary Frankfurt Waldstadion. It forms an integral part of German sporting history and has always been the focal point of life in the region. The Waldstadion has gone through many changes in the past and has now, at the start of the new millennium, been completely refurbished and given a new strategic concept. The fantastic sportsmen who have played here and the spectacular football matches that have taken place are never to be forgotten.

• 1925 - 1932

  On May 21, 1925, 30,000 visitors cheered in the spring sunshine as Frankfurt’s lord mayor, Ludwig Landmann, officially opened the Waldstadion. In the midst of galloping inflation and unemployment, ‘Germany’s finest sports facility’ arose on the site of a former shooting range.

  The first major event to take place was the final of the German Football Championship on June 7, 1925 (1. FC Nuremberg – FSV Frankfurt 1:0). The first ‘Working Men’s Olympics’ followed in July, with competitors from 12 nations, making it the first international competition in the Waldstadion. At the same time, it was a political demonstration against war and nationalism.

  Out in the forest area to the south of the city, frequent sporting and cultural activities took place from now on not only the main arena. Increasingly, sporting events were also held in such other locations as the swimming pool, the cyclie stadium, the tennis-courts and the winter sports hall.

  The cycle stadium in particular drew huge crowds of spectators by mounting top sporting events. International motorcycle meetings, pacemaker race championships and a successful boxing match for the future world champion, Max Schmeling, in 1927 (against Larsen of Denmark), attracted large audiences. But the Waldstadion remained the focal point and football was always the main attraction.

  Major events such as the athletics internationals against Switzerland in 1928 or international games such as that against Italy in 1930 (0:2) before 50,000 spectators – with the stadium full to capacity – established the Waldstadion as an international sports centre.

  Frankfurt even officially applied for the 1936 Olympic Games with ‘one of the finest stadiums in the world’ in May 1930. After the Berlin IOK Congress in the same month, however, officials persuaded Frankfurt to waive its application in favour of the capital city. The International Olympic Committee then went on to give the games to Berlin in 1931.

• 1933 - 1950

  Shortly after coming to power in 1933, the Nazis took control of the Waldstadion. The Jewish lord mayor, Ludwig Landmann, resigned. Soon, the new ruling powers forced the city council to allow political rallies to take place in the stadium. As a consequence, the SS marched into the Waldstadion in July, supervised by Heinrich Himmler. Three months later, the Hessian NSDAP held their political convention there and Goebbels addressed 150,000 NSDAP party members in the open area leading to the stadium. In 1935, the ‘Stadion’ was renamed ‘Sportfeld’ and was placed entirely in the service of the swastika.

  One of the sporting highlights in the pre-war years was the achievement of Rudolf Harbig. On August 12, 1939, he ran 400 metres in 46.0 seconds, creating a new world record. The war began 18 days later – Harbig died on March 5, 1944 on the East front.

  The US marched into Frankfurt in March 1945. On May 1, they seized the battered ‘Sportfeld’ and renamed it ‘Victory Stadium’. At first, the GIs used all of the sports facilities themselves – at the time, American football was played in the main arena. In July 1946, the Americans allowed the stadium to be used to host a German event for the first time – the ‘Tag der Eintracht’ (Day of Unity). It turned into a huge festival, with 40,000 spectators coming to see athletes representing clubs from Munich to Bremen. The stadium gave people a little pleasure again in these difficult times.

  Then things really took off again: the German athletics championships in 1946, top-league football (in those days, the highest level), as well as the derbys between Eintracht Frankfurt, FSV and Offenbacher Kickers. Also, the pacemaker race championships were held before more than 20,000 spectators on the cycle track and on September 28, ex-world boxing champion Max Schmeling made his big comeback by knocking out Werner Vollmer before 40,000 spectators.

  The first German gymnastics festival after the war became the highlight of 1948. The lord mayor, Walter Kolb, was the patron. Later, he headed the gymnastics association and tirelessly fought for the stadium premises to be handed back. The Americans complied with his requests step by step. The last area to be returned was the open-air swimming pool in June 1950, but the US reserved the right to use it in future.

• 1951 - 1960

  Frankfurt Eintracht was host to FC Kaiserslautern on May 17, 1953. They sold 68,000 tickets, although the stadium was only built for 55,000 spectators. Over 200 people were injured when even more football fans wanted to force their way into the grounds. FCK won 1:0 and later became German champions. Responsibility for the consequences of the chaos had to be borne by the city of Frankfurt and Stadium GmbH. As a result, the stadium was modified.

  The first excavators went into action in September 1953. Hardly a brick was left standing. The old-fashioned construction elements of the main block were removed and special seating areas were created for guests of honour and the press. The pitch was lowered by 3 metres, the track was shortened from 500 to 400 metres and spectator capacity was increased to 87,000. The costs amounted to 1.6 million marks. After 19 months of building, the rebuilt Waldstadion was reopened on May 14, 1955, with a game against the Irish national team.

  Even then, it was more than simply a football stadium. Therefore, it was possible to host the 1955 German athletic championships there. This was followed by football matches against Switzerland in 1956 (1:3 before 80,000 spectators) and against Spain in 1958 (2:0). In 1959, Eintracht competed in the German championships. On May 23, the team was host to FK Pirmasens. 81,000 spectators (the maximum capacity had been adjusted in the meantime) attended the game, setting the record for the largest number of spectators – a record that still stands today. Eintracht won and made the final against Kickers Offenbach. Unfortunately, the ‘dream final’ had to take place in Berlin: Eintracht won 5:3 in extra time and secured their only German championship title to date.

  European championship games were illuminated by Germany’s brightest floodlight system at that time. After beating Young Boys Bern and Wiener SC, Eintracht reached the semi-final against Glasgow Rangers. On April 13, 1960, 77,000 spectators watched the legendary 6:1 win against Rangers. The press described it as ‘the best that was ever offered in a meeting of two teams on a Frankfurt football pitch’. Eintracht also won the second leg (6:3) in Glasgow but were defeated 3:7 there by Real Madrid.

• 1961 - 1980

  The new top league, the Bundesliga, began in 1963. This attracted more and more spectators and led to more requirements that had to be met. For example, a fence had to be erected around the pitch. And there were other highlights apart from football. The ice-skating rink was opened in 1960. Marika Kilius and Franz Ningel developed their talents there and top-class ice hockey was played. In 1966, the world track cycling championships were held there. In 1966, Muhammad Ali and Karl Mildenberger met for a world championship boxing match. Ali won in the 12th round, but Mildenberger put up a strong performance.

  In 1968, Frankfurt decided to apply as a location for the 1974 World Cup in Germany. Several requirements had to be met: space for at least 60,000 spectators, 50% seating capacity, 2/3 of the seats under cover. So the stadium had to be reconstructed again. The cost calculations kept rising, causing hefty debates in the city parliament. A decision was made on February 2, 1972 and was telegraphed to the FIFA Congress in Beirut immediately. Just in time, as the DFB had to announce the World Cup cities by February 3!

  The new stadium was presented to the public on February 13, 1974. The first events were the World Cup qualifying match between Yugoslavia and Spain, followed by Germany–Scotland two weeks later, which ended 2:1, with goals by Breitner and Grabowski.

  The 10th World Cup even began in the Waldstadion. 60,000 spectators watched the opening match (Brazil–Yugoslavia 0:0) on June 13, 1974. In total, 5 group matches were held here. On July 3, the semi-final between Poland and Germany was scheduled. Due to incessant rain, the pitch seemed unplayable. But thanks to the fire brigade and scores of Waldstadion employees, the referee was able to start the game after all. The match went down in history as ‘the Frankfurt water battle’. Gerd Müller scored the goal which led to a 1:0 victory for Germany. That year, the record number of 1,343,500 spectators visited the stadium. In 1978, a drainage system and a heating system for the pitch were added, the second such installations in the country after Munich.

  Eintracht was now attracting more spectators to the stadium. In addition, important international matches such as the 1975 game against Holland to commemorate the DFB’s 75th anniversary, the German athletics championships in 1976 and the UEFA Cup second leg final against Mönchengladbach (21.5.1980, Eintracht won 1:0, its greatest triumph in an international competition) made the Waldstadion into a magnet for spectators.

• 1981 - 1990

  The 80’s brought various events to Frankfurt which attracted vast amounts of visitors and created a lot of enthusiasm for sports. In athletics, the women’s European Cup took place in 1981 and the German championships in 1988. In football, there were the cup finals in 1982 (Bayern Munich–1. FC Nuremberg) and in 1984 (Bayern Munich–Mönchengladbach), the match against Brazil in 1986, the Supercup games (Bayern Munich–Hamburg SV) in 1987 and (Werder Bremen–Eintracht Frankfurt) in 1988. The European Cup in 1988 deserves a special mention as well, when the stadium hosted the matches between Italy–Spain and England–Soviet Union. Special catering facilities and VIP rooms were installed for these events.

  And more was to come. The Waldstadion hosted both the opening and closing ceremonies of the German gymnastics festival and the concluding session of the convention of the Protestant Church in Germany in 1987. Amongst the record number of 85,000 spectators, were the German president, Richard von Weizsäcker, and the chancellor, Helmut Kohl.

  At the same time, the events held in the Waldstadion became more diverse in the 80’s. The era of open-air rock and pop concerts began. The Federal Republic’s first open-air festival ever with international performers took place as early as 1970 in the cycle arena, when the Byrds and Black Sabbath appeared, amongst others, in a programme entitled ‘Rock Circus’. But things really got going with the appearance of Supertramp in 1983. In the following years, various superstars played in the Waldstadion: Madonna in 1987, Bruce Springsteen and Prince in 1988, The Rolling Stones in two consecutive concerts in 1990, and also Tina Turner.

  This brought a new sound to the arena and, along with the setting, the public changed. The massive stages were built up and dismantled in day and night shifts, to be followed by the invasion of the mostly young fans. The Waldstadion also started to attract more and more women. While women and girls were in the minority at football matches, they often predominated in the groups of teenagers that came to pop concerts. This development continued into the 90’s.

• 1991 - 1999

  Many concerts took place in the Waldstadion in the early 90’s. In 1992, Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Dire Straits and Michael Jackson came, for whom the DFB even changed the location of the Frankfurt-Bayern Munich match. In 1993, U2 and Guns N’ Roses gave concerts and Konstantin Wecker and Jethro Tull performed on the former hockey pitch. But after Bon Jovi, the Kelly Family and Westernhagen, only Tina Turner came in 2000.

  All in all, though, the diversity increased. In 1993, there was a children’s festival as well as a politically explosive Kurdish festival and, in 1995, the first company event: Commerzbank celebrated its 125th anniversary there. Several thousand employees came to it from all over Germany. The event with its spectacular closing laser show was presented by Günter Jauch. Since then, Frankfurt business has increasingly been using the Waldstadion.

  A lot of exciting things happened in terms of sport as well. After Frankfurt had applied for the 2004 Olympics in 1987, international events started to take place there, such as the 1991 final of the European athletics cup. Once the new centre court had been built, top international tennis events such as the Women’s Federation Cup were also held at the stadium as well as the women’s world tennis championships in 1992, 1993 and 1994. After that the tennis boom slowed down, though.

  In 1991, American Football moved into the stadium and with it, the World League, an offshoot of the American National Football League (NFL). Frankfurt Galaxy was born and attracted 150,000 spectators in its first season. This new sport had an instant impact and attracted a young audience with its party atmosphere. People rocked and had fun like never before at sporting events.

  Inadequate TV revenues caused the NFL to cancel its American Football venture in Europe. It wasn’t relaunched until 1995, with a new system and a new TV contract. Now the NFL Europe League was born with five European teams. Spectator numbers rose to over 36,000. Frankfurt Galaxy immediately won the World Bowl, repeating this success in 1999. Since then, American Football is an established sport with the Frankfurt fans.

  And Eintracht? In 1996, they were relegated from the top division, the 1st Bundesliga. They didn’t return until two years later – and the Waldstadion suffered a lot of damage at the last home game in the 2nd Bundesliga against Mainz. But they faced relegation again in 1999, until the legendary ‘Waldstadion miracle’ occurred, when Eintracht beat Kaiserslautern 5:1, and stayed in the top league.

• 2000 - 2005

  In the year 2000, the ‘Waldstadion miracle’ was repeated. With the new ‘saviour’ Magath as coach, Eintracht just managed to remain in the top league by winning the final game of the season.

  Now everything was supposed to become more professional. The more than 100-year old club formed Eintracht Frankfurt Fussball AG in the summer of 2000. The US company Octagon invested 50 million marks in the professional section of the club. First, personnel changes were implemented: a new presidium, a new management, new players. The season began well. But by the start of 2001, Eintracht was once again facing relegation. Magath had to go, quickly followed by Rolf Dohmen, the sports director. Friedel Rausch came, but wasn’t able to save Eintracht from relegation either.

  The new trainer was Martin Andermatt. Then Octagon pulled out and Eintracht’s future was threatened. The problems continued to grow more acute at the end of the 2001/2002 season. The DFB withdrew the club’s licence for the 2nd Bundesliga. It was only renewed at the very last minute. The solitary highlight in the new millennium, apart from the 2nd league Eintracht matches and the Galaxy games, was the concluding session of the convention of the Protestant Church in 2001.

  Then preparations for the World Cup began. Starting in 2002, the old stadium was demolished bit by bit and, bit by bit, the new one arose. Meanwhile, Eintracht unexpectedly got themselves promoted to the 1st league by beating Reutlingen. In the final seconds of the match, Alexander Schur managed to score the necessary goal for a 6:3 victory, after the guests had equalised to 3:3 and the rival for promotion, Mainz 05, was leading 4:0 in Brunswick. The impossible occurred: the Frankfurt team scored another three goals while Brunswick scored as well.

  A week later, Galaxy routed their archrivals Rhein Fire with a score of 38:7 and made the World-Bowl final. Again, this was exuberantly celebrated. Galaxy won the final in Glasgow against Rhein-Fire by 35:16, becoming the first team ever to win the World Bowl three times.

  In 2004 Eintracht was relegated again. Despite playing well, they didn’t manage more than a 1:2 in their final game in Hamburg. But they managed to return to the first league just in time for the completion of the arena.