Parkstadion (German pronunciation: [ˈpaʁkˌʃtaːdi̯ɔn] ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that is no longer used to host any major events. The stadium was built in 1973 and hosted five matches of the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It had a capacity of 62,004 seats.
During the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Yugoslavia set the record for the biggest ever win at a FIFA World Cup with a 9–0 hammering of Zaire.
Gelsenkirchen-Schalke is a quarter of Gelsenkirchen. In its current boundaries, it has an area of 2.968 square kilometres and 21,510 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2022). Thanks to the local football club FC Schalke 04, the district is at least as well known nationally as the city of Gelsenkirchen. However, Schalke 04 has played its matches in the Erle district since 1973 (first in the Parkstadion, since 2001 in the Arena AufSchalke).
Arena AufSchalke (German pronunciation: [aˈʁeːnaː ʔaʊfˈʃalkə]), currently known as Veltins-Arena (pronounced [ˈfɛltɪnsʔaˌʁeːnaː]) for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof and pitch, football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for FC Schalke 04. The stadium has a capacity of 62,271 (standing and seated) for league matches and 54,740 (seated only) for international matches. It hosted four matches at UEFA Euro 2024. The naming rights to the stadium were sold in July 2005 to the German brewery Veltins.
In the late 1990s, plans emerged to construct a new stadium for Schalke 04 to replace the outdated Parkstadion. Following Schalke 04's 1996–97 UEFA Cup victory and anticipating the club's 100th anniversary in 2004, a contract to build the new stadium was awarded to the German construction firm HBM in 1998. The Veltins-Arena is located near the old Parkstadion on a club-owned property known as "Berger Feld." Due to the presence of two mine shafts beneath the site, the stadium's main axis was rotated to ensure structural integrity. The arena features a two-tier layout with a foundation of cast concrete and packed slag from steel smelting.