This year, the VELTINS Arena is celebrating its 25th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the Schalke Museum is offering four special tours that delve into the eventful history of Schalke’s home stadium. The first tour takes place on October 14, with the remaining three tours following on October 16, 29, and 30.
Between the laying of the cornerstone on November 21, 1998, and the opening of the stadium—initially under the name Arena AufSchalke—construction took 996 days. Considering its size and technical complexity, this timeframe is relatively short. To this day, the stadium—which has been called the VELTINS-Arena since 2005—meets the highest standards in every respect and ranks among the top venues in Germany and Europe.
Over 760 major events have taken place so far in one of Europe’s most modern stadiums, and nearly 40 million people have visited the arena. But what was it like during construction and at the opening? What changes have taken place over the past 25 years? And what special features make the “royal blue” multifunctional arena one of a kind? All these topics will be explored during the 04 special tours.
Tours begin at 5:00 p.m. at the West 1 entrance. Schalke fans should plan on spending about 90 minutes on the tour. Adults pay 20 euros to participate; children and teens between the ages of 4 and 21 pay 10 euros.
Interested fans can now register by emailing service@schalke04.de. To book, you’ll need to provide the desired tour date, an address, the number of people (broken down by adults and teens), and an IBAN number for the direct debit. Since the number of participants is limited, only registered fans may take part in the tours.
