Parkstadion () is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

in Gelsenkirchen,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 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 The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...

.Parkstadion
It had a capacity of 62,004 seats. During the

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

set the record for the biggest ever win at a

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

with a 9–0 hammering of

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

performed at the stadium during his Bad World Tour on 4 September 1988 and during his

HIStory World Tour The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning the gl ...

on 15 June 1997. He was also scheduled to perform at the stadium on 6 September 1992 on his Dangerous World Tour, but cancelled due to ill health.

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

performed at the stadium during their Urban Jungle Tour on 16 August 1990 and during their Bridges To Babylon Tour on 27 July 1998.

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

performed at the stadium during The Division Bell Tour on 23 August 1994. It was the home ground of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, ...

until May 2001, before the newly built and adjacent Arena AufSchalke opened in July of the same year. The stadium hosted two UEFA Euro 1988 fixtures (

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

v the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

), as well as the first leg of the 1997 UEFA Cup Final between Schalke and Internazionale.Parkstadion
The Stadium Guide. Accessed March 5, 2012. The last competitive football match played in the stadium was a

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

fixture between Schalke and SpVgg Unterhaching on 19 May 2001. The match was attended by approximately 65,000 people. At the end of the match, after a difficult 5–3 win against SpVgg Unterhaching, and thanks to a last minute goal scored by Hamburg SV against Bayern Munich, the crowd celebrated FC Schalke 04's first Bundesliga title before Patrik Andersson equalized in the additional time for Bayern, causing Bayern to retain the title and shocking the Schalke fans in the Parkstadion. The stadium is now partly demolished and the Jumbotron that was placed atop the northern stand was donated to Erzgebirgsstadion in Aue, where it was installed during the renovations of the stadium in 2004.

References

External links

Parkstadion Gelsenkirchen
{{Authority control Defunct football venues in Germany Buildings and structures in Gelsenkirchen Multi-purpose stadiums in Germany Defunct sports venues in Germany Sports venues in North Rhine-Westphalia Sports venues completed in 1969 1969 establishments in West Germany