July 31, 2007

Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany


Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany

The Zentralstadion (Central Stadium), located in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany is the home of FC Sachsen Leipzig. The club is currently playing in the Upper League-South.

In 1956 the first Zentralstadion opened, at the time it was the biggest stadium in Germany being able to hold 100,000 spectators. However, over the years it fell in to disuse and was costing the city too much to maintain. In 1997 the city of Leipzig decided to build a new stadium within the old stadium, a modern state of the art stadium only for football. The new stadium was built from December 2000 till March of 2004. The Zentralstadion will host 4 group matches and 1 last 16 game in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

There are bridges built over the old stadium to connect with the new stadium. The roof has an integrated floodlight design and is designed to provide supierior acoustics. The lawn size is 80×120, the actual playing field is 68×105. It has been integrated into the area surronding the stadium by large amounts of trees and other greenery.

[Source: Wikipedia]

West Bromwich Albion Football Club Stadium, West Bromwich, England


West Bromwich Albion Football Club Stadium, West Bromwich, England

West Bromwich Albion Football Club stadium.

More about the club:

West Bromwich Albion Football Club is an English football club formed by workers from Salter’s Spring Works in West Bromwich, West Midlands in 1878. It currently plays in the FA Premier League.

This famous football club was one of the original founder members of the Football League. Although not as fashionable as some other English football teams, over the years ‘The Albion’ has made a great contribution to football. It was the first English team to play in Russia and then a couple of decades later the first English team to play in China. During the Chinese tour, midfielder John Trewick was asked what he thought of the Great Wall, his famous reply was “Once you’ve seen one wall, you’ve seen them all”.

Their original nickname,’The Throstles’ originated because they had a thrush on their shirt badges. The more colloquial nickname and the more popular one is ‘The Baggies’. There are several theories for how this name may have originated, a popular one being that the team wore unfashionably long shorts at one stage.

[Source: Wikipedia]

July 29, 2007

Old motocross race track, Gdynia, Poland


Old motocross race track, Gdynia, Poland

Old motocross race track in Gdynia Chwarzno, Poland

Infineon Raceway, California, USA


Infineon Raceway, California, USA

Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip in the hills of northern California, near Sonoma, north of San Francisco. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills. It is host to one of the only two NASCAR races each year that are run on road courses. It is also host to several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series.

With the closure of Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California after the 1988 season, NASCAR, wanting a west coast road course event to replace it, chose the Sears Point facility. Riverside International was razed for a shopping center development.

In 2002, Sears Point Raceway was renamed after a corporation, Infineon. However, as with many renamings of sports complexes, many people still call it by its original name.

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Estadio Dennis Martinez, Managua, Nicaragua


Estadio Dennis Martinez, Managua, Nicaragua

Estadio Dennis Martinez in Managua, Nicaragua is the Nicaraguan national stadium. It is used for football and baseball and has a capacity of 30,100 people. It is named after former Major League Baseball player, Dennis Martinez.

[Source: Wikipedia]

July 28, 2007

Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia


Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia

Hrazdan Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Yerevan, Armenia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 69,000. It was built in 1972

[Source: Wikipedia]

Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Usa


Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Usa

Gerald J. Ford Stadium is a stadium in University Park, Texas, named after Gerald J. Ford (should not be confused with the US president Gerald Ford), a billionaire banker who provided most of the funding for its construction. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Southern Methodist University Mustangs. The stadium, the newest on-campus facility in NCAA Division I-A college football, opened in 2000 and holds 32,000 people, but could be raised to 45,000 in the future.

[Source: Wikipedia]

July 27, 2007

Suwon World Cup Stadium (big Bird Stadium), Suwon, South Korea


Suwon World Cup Stadium (big Bird Stadium), Suwon, South Korea

The Suwon World Cup Stadium (Big Bird Stadium), which seats 43,288, in the Korean city of Suwon, has been home to K-League soccer side Suwon Samsung Bluewings since 2002.

[Source: Wikipedia]

July 26, 2007

Bradley Center, Milwaukee, USA


Bradley Center, Milwaukee, USA

The Bradley Center is an indoor arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is home to the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL (and formerly of the IHL) and the Marquette University men’s basketball team. It was also the former home of the Milwaukee Wave of the MISL from 1987-2003, the Milwaukee Mustangs of the AFL from 1994-2001, and the Badger Hockey Showdown from 1989-2002.

Currently, the Bradley Center is one of the oldest arenas used in the NBA.

The arena was completed in 1988 at a cost of $90 million. It was meant to be a modern replacement of The MECCA, which was built in 1950. It was gift to the State of Wisconsin by philanthropists Jane Pettit and Lloyd Pettit in memory of her late father, Harry Lynde Bradley of Allen-Bradley fortune. The arena seats 20,000 for end-stage concerts, 18,717 for NBA games, 19,000 for college basketball, and 17,800 for ice hockey.

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Estádio Plácido Castelo (castelão), Fortaleza, Brasil


Estádio Plácido Castelo (castelão), Fortaleza, Brasil

The Estádio Plácido Aderaldo Castelo, also known as the Castelão is a football stadium inaugurated on November 11, 1973 in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, with a maximum capacity of 60,000 people. The stadium is owned by the Ceará state Government, and is the home ground of Ceará Sporting Club and Fortaleza Esporte Clube. Its formal name honors Plácido Aderaldo Castelo, Ceará governor from September 12, 1966 to March 15, 1971, and was the stadium construction idealizer.

Castelão was completed in 1973 and was inaugurated on November 11 of that year.

In May, 2000,the Ceará government decided to reform the stadium. The reformations were divided in three parts, and started on May 16, 2001. The first part consisted in the recovery of the ditches, and of the bleachers junctions, as well as the recovery of the low walls. The second part of the reformation started on July 20, 2001, and consisted in the recovery and strengthen of the stadium physical structure. The third part consisted in the recovery of the electrical, hydraulic, sanitary and electronic installations.

The inaugural match was played on November 11, 1973, when Ceará and Fortaleza drew 0-0. The stadium’s first goal was scored on November 18, 1973 by Ceará’s Erandy, when Ceará beat Vitória 1-0.

The re-inaugural match was played on March 23, 2002, when the Brazil national team beat the Yugoslavia national team 1-0. The stadium’s first goal after the re-inauguration was scored by Brazil’s Luizão.

The stadium’s attendance record currently stands at 118,496, set on August 27. 1980, when the Brazil national team beat the Uruguay national team 1-0.

[Source: Wikipedia]