Fritz Walter Stadium

About

Fritz-Walter-Stadion (German pronunciation: [fʁɪtsˈvaltɐˌʃtaːdi̯ɔn] ) is the home stadium of 1. FC Kaiserslautern and is located in the city of Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was one of the stadia used in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is named after Fritz Walter (1920–2002), who played for the Kaiserslautern club throughout his career and was captain of the Germany national football team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup in the "Miracle of Bern". The stadium was built on the Betzenberg hill, hence its nickname "Betze" (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛt͡sə] ), and was opened in 1920.

In preparation for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the stadium underwent a €76,5 million renovation beginning in 2002 that added a media center and a new floodlight system. The capacity was also increased from 38,500, of which 18,600 were standing, to 49,850, of which 16,363 are standing. Since 1 April 2023, the official capacity has been 49,327.

The stadium was one of the venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The following games were played at the stadium:

The 1. FCK logo, the logo of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and the Betzenberg Devil on the side of the north stand

The Fritz-Walter-Stadion in the year 2000

The west stand, home of the most fervent FCK supporters, in 2000.

1. FC Kaiserslautern fans at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in April 2011