UEFA Euro 2008 - Ernst Happel Stadium
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The Ernst Happel Stadium is the largest football stadium in Austria. It is located in Vienna in the north-east of the country, in the Prater area of the city between the Danube canal and the river itself.
The stadium was known as the Prater Stadium (Praterstadion). It was named after the famous Austrian player and manager. Then it was renamed in honour of Ernst Happel following his death from cancer in 1992.
Ernst Happel went on to have an illustrious career as a coach, winning league titles in four countries, the European Cup with Feyenoord and Hamburg, and leading Holland to the World Cup final in 1978.
This ground is the home of new club SK Austria Kaernten (formerly Pasching) in the Austrian Bundesliga. The stadium will host the Euro 2008 final on 29 June, holding Group B matches between joint-hosts Austria, Croatia Germany and Poland, as well as two quarter-finals, a semi-final and the final itself.
The final of the tournament will be played at this UEFA Five-Star rated ground:
8 th June -18:00 Austria vs Croatia
12 th June - 20:45 Austria vs Poland
16 th June -20:45 Austria vs Germany
20 th June - 20:45 Winner Group B vs Runner-Up Group A
22 th June - 20:45 Winner Group D vs Runner-Up Group C
26 th June - 20:45 Semi Final Two
29 th June - 20:45 Euro 2008 Final
The Ernst Happel Stadium was bult some 88 years ago between 1929 and 1931 for the second Workers' Olympiad. It was designed by famous German architect Otto Ernst Schweizer. Almost 37 million Euro has been invested by the City of Vienna and the Austrian federal government to renovate and improve Ernst Happel Stadion. The capasity of the stadium was expanded to 53,008 seats for the 2008 European Football Championship. The field has been fitted with special lawn heating, and two complete, hi-tech video walls have been installed. The stadium now includes a huge media center for press, TV and radio located under the stands. Improvements to its infrastructure for UEFA EURO 2008 have made it one of the most attractive venues in Europe.
The stadium has held many great matches over its long history. It has held five UEFA finals in the past and played host to Ajax's 1995 European Cup triumph over AC Milan. Other sporting events are held in the stadium, including athletics, cycling and tennis. In 1950 around 35,000 people watched Austrian Josef Weidinger win the European Heavyweight crown against Stefan Olek (of France ), and in 1995, a temporary pool in the stadium was the venue for the European LC Championships. The stadium has hosted a number of rock concerts, with crowds of up to 56,000 attending performances by Robbie Williams, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, Three Tenors, Rolling Stones, U2, Guns N' Roses, Pink Floyd and Tina Turner.
The stadium has excellent transport connections, being close to the airport in Vienna, reachable by bus or tram and having its own underground connection to the city centre.