World Cup 2006 Germany - Stadiums and GIS.

The 2006 FIFA World Cup has started in Germany and to help those who cannot make the trip to Europe, I have gathered a list of the stadiums, with pictures, and added some Satellite images for fun (just click on their highlighted names for Satellite images) So, here part 1 of 4 of the 12 stadiums being used for the World Cup.

• Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany. The history of this stadium is unparalleled in world sports. It was at this venue that Jesse Owens gave an athletic bitch-slap to the Nazis and Adolph Hitler by winning at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The final match for the 2006 FIFA World Cup will be held here and holds 72,000 fans.

• Dortmund Westfalenstadion. Dortmund is known for its eight 62-metre-high bright yellow support pylons that stand out from miles away. It holds 65,000 fans and is known nationwide as the Bundesliga’s (German Football League) opera-house.

• FIFA World Cup Stadium Gelsenkirchen (Gelsenkirchen Arena Auf Schalke). The 2002 World Cup brought a new group of fans to the World Cup when is was staged in Asia for the first time. Also, a new interest in newer, fancy stadiums came about due to rising interests and new technologies over the last 10 years. Here some of the new features in stadium architecture are being illustrated. Namely a giant video cube scoreboard, a retractable roof, and the field is retractable and goes outside for sun and air. The stadium officially opened in August, 2001, and holds 52,000 fans.