Fritz-Walter Stadion, also called as Sportz Betzenberg is a football stadium in Germany. It was established in the year 1920 and is the home to Bundesliga second division team FC Kaiserslautern.
Fritz-Walter Stadion Stadium Capacity
It has the capacity to hold 49,780 spectators. The ground has nickname “Betze”.
History
Fritz-Walter Stadion when opened just consisted of one wooden stand, sandy pitch and changing rooms for players. The first match at the stadium was played in the year 1920, between Kaiserslautern and FC Pfalz Ludwigshafen, with the latter winning 2-0.
In 1953, the stadium got expanded which then could hold just over 30,000 spectators. In the following decades, the stadium got expanded gradually and new stands were opened in 1963 and 1973.
The new stand which opened in 1980’s increased the capacity to 38,000. The stadium also changed its name to Fritz-Walter Stadion. It was named after Fritz Walter who scored 327 goals for the club.
It was selected as one of the venues to host the 2006 World Cup, and it was redeveloped and expanded to its current capacity.
Major Matches
The stadium was one of the venues to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It hosted a total of four group matches and a round of 16 matches, in which Italy beat Australia 2-1.
It also hosted the 1995 Women’s Euro Cup Final. The match between Kaiserslautern and Bayern Munich in 2006 recorded the highest attendance of 50,754 spectators.
Controversies
The World Cup 2006 Semi-Final match between Italy and Australia saw a controversial penalty given in the closing period of the match. Fabio Grosso rolled over Australia’s Lucas Neill which was a 50-50 chance.
In another match between Turkey and England in the same tournament, Bulut Ozturk went down in between two English defenders just outside the box which referee gave it as free-kick. The replays clearly showed that he went down on his own and had no contact with the defenders.
Recent Matches
The recent club match played in the stadium was between Kaiserslautern and Nurnberg which ended in a 1-1 draw. This ground was not used for any international match recently.
