Olympic Stadium (Wrocław)

Olympic Stadium
Stadion Olimpijski
Full nameOlympic Stadium in Wrocław
Former namesSchlesierkampfbahn (1928–1935)
Hermann-Göring-Stadion (1935–1939)
LocationWrocław, Poland
Coordinates51°7′10″N 17°5′48″E / 51.11944°N 17.09667°E / 51.11944; 17.09667
OwnerCity of Wrocław
Capacity13,675[1]
SurfaceArtificial Grass (football)
Shale (speedway)
Construction
Built1926–1928
Opened1928
Renovated1935–1939
ArchitectRichard Konwiarz
Tenants
Sparta Wrocław (Speedway Ekstraliga)
Panthers Wrocław (ELF)

The Olympic Stadium (Polish: Stadion Olimpijski) is a multi-purpose stadium in Wrocław, Poland. It is the home stadium of speedway team Sparta Wrocław and American football team Panthers Wrocław.

The stadium has a capacity now of 11,000 people and was supposed to be one of the main pitches on UEFA Euro 2012. The newly constructed Stadion Miejski was used for that event instead.

History

Gymnastics performances at the stadium in 1967

The stadium was built from 1926 to 1928 as Schlesierkampfbahn (Silesian Arena) according to a design by Richard Konwiarz. It was part of a larger sports complex in the city district of Zalesie (then Leerbeutel), again extended from 1935 to 1939 and renamed Hermann-Göring-Stadion under the Nazi German authorities. On 16 May 1937, it was the site of the legendary Breslau Eleven football match, when the Germany national football team defeated Denmark 8–0. Despite its current Polish name, the arena has never been an Olympic Games site (in particular, for the 1936 Summer Olympics); however the builder Richard Konwiarz achieved a bronze medal in the art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles for his architectural design.

Heavily devastated during the Siege of Breslau in World War II, the stadium was rebuilt by the Polish municipal administration and named after General Karol Świerczewski. From the 1970s it was used by the Wrocław University School of Physical Education and comprehensively modernized with floodlights and an undersoil heating. The Wrocław city administration assumed ownership in 2006 and had the speedway racing track rebuilt, whereafter the smaller football pitch no longer met the requirements of UEFA stadium categories.

The speedway track is 387 metres (423 yd) in length.

Covered stand

Past events

The stadium has hosted the Speedway Grand Prix of Poland in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2000. It also was a venue of the Speedway Grand Prix of Europe in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. The stadium has hosted american football competition and motorcycle speedway competition at 2017 World Games.

Speedway World Finals

Individual World Championship

World Pairs Championship

World Team Cup

* The Great Britain Speedway Team contained riders from the Commonwealth nations until the early 1970s. Mauger, Briggs and Moore were from New Zealand, Airey from Australia and Wilson from England.

Speedway World Cup

Speedway Grand Prix

National football team matches

No Date Host – Opponent Result
1. 2 November 1930  Germany –  Norway
1:1
2. 15 September 1935  Germany –  Poland
1:0
3. 16 May 1937  Germany –  Denmark
8:0
4. 12 November 1939  Germany –  Czech Republic
4:4
5. 7 December 1941  Germany –  Slovakia
4:0
6. 14 May 1950  Poland –  Romania
3:3
7. 10 May 1953  Poland –  Czechoslovakia
1:1
8. 26 August 1956  Poland –  Bulgaria
1:2
9. 21 June 1959  Poland –  Israel
7:2
10. 22 October 1961  Poland –  East Germany
3:1
11. 18 May 1966  Poland –  Sweden
1:1
12. 28 July 1967  Poland –  Soviet Union
0:1
13. 16 May 1973  Poland –  Republic of Ireland
2:0
14. 7 September 1974  Poland –  France
0:2
15. 12 November 1977  Poland –  Sweden
2:1
16. 15 November 1978  Poland –   Switzerland
2:0
17. 15 November 1981  Poland –  Malta
6:0
18. 28 October 1983  Poland –  Portugal
0:1
19. 24 March 1987  Poland –  Norway
4:1

References

  1. ^ "Wrocław".

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