Portrait

An unparalleled variety of events, a long list of technical superlatives and an intoxicating atmosphere make the VELTINS-Arena one of the most impressive multipurpose venues anywhere in Europe. According to the motto ‘Everything a class better!’, the Schalke stadium constantly sets new standards with a successful mix of entertainment, sport and music events.

Since opening in 2001 the VELTINS-Arena has established itself as a top European venue. Today the biggest open-air stage anywhere, tomorrow the home ground of FC Schalke 04, the day after tomorrow an exhibition centre, opera house or cathedral of boxing – the VELTINS-Arena is a veritable quick-change artist. Within just a few hours it can be transformed into a venue for almost every event imaginable.

Millions of people have flocked to Schalke to see national and international headline music acts such as U2, Robbie Williams, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Herbert Grönemeyer and PUR. The VELTINS-Arena has also hosted opera hits such as Carmen and Aida and sports events such as the Biathlon World Team Challenge, the 2010 World Ice Hockey Championship, which set a new world attendance record, the Klitschko boxing nights and the 2004 Champions League final.

Schalke’s home ground regularly attracts a full house of 62,271 spectators. Yet the VELTINS-Arena enjoys a particularly good reputation as a venue for Bundesliga, DFB Cup, European and international matches not only in Germany. “The world has yet to see a stadium like this one,” said FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter at the official opening. European football’s governing body, UEFA, awarded the multipurpose stadium a maximum of five stars, writing in its assessment: “This venue fulfils more than all the requirements and can even be qualified as a six-star venue.”

The VELTINS-Arena sets new standards not only in terms of its versatility. State-of-the-art stage and sound equipment, the giant videocube, the withdrawable pitch, movable stands, the retractable roof and the cashless payment system are just some of the technical highlights that make the VELTINS Arena a veritable masterwork.

The club’s extensive hospitality offerings leave nothing to be desired, treating visitors to first-class service and premium comfort in appealing surroundings. They include the LaOla Business Club, the Glückauf Club, the Schalker Markt, the Tibulsky, 81 corporate boxes, nine event boxes and three event lounges. So sit back and enjoy entertainment of the highest quality!

Baptisms, weddings, funerals, ecumenical services: The chapel in the VELTINS-Arena is more than just a place of peace and reflection. Well over 2000 children have been baptized here, 1000 weddings and anniversaries celebrated, deceased people remembered and prayed for victims of catastrophes and lights lit.

As the first chapel of its kind in Germany, it was inaugurated on 12 August 2001. Artist Alexander Jokisch conceived it as an extension of the midline on the playing field. The chapel is intended as a counterpoint to the noisy stadium. It sees itself as a place for people’s lives and questions. It is an ecumenical meeting place across denominations. The chapel on Schalke is a sheltered space of peace, joy, prayer and pastoral care in the heart of the arena.