Euro 2008 Venues |
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Euro 2008 will be held in four cities in Switzerland and four cities in Austria. Let's take a quick look around the various cities and stadiums that will be hosting the matches. We start things off in Basel, scene of the opening game.
 Basel Münster Matches will be played at St Jakob-Park, capacity 42,500. It was opened in 2001 and replaces St Jakob Stadium which was located at the same location. It is the home stadium of FC Basel. It will play host to three first-round games (including the opening game), two quarterfinals and one semifinals.
Matches will be played at the Stade de Suisse, built on the location of the former Wankdorf stadium, located in the Wankdorf district of the city. It has a capacity of 32,000 and is normally used by Swiss League side Young Boys Bern. It will host three first round matches. Geneva, Genève in French, is the only city in the French-speaking part of the country (Romandy) to be hosting matches for Euro 2008. It is located in the far southwest corner of the country on the banks of Lake Geneva. It is home to a number of international organizations, such as the United Nations and the Red Cross. The lakeside setting is as beautiful as any in the world.  Aerial view of Geneva Euro 2008 matches will take place at the Stade Genève, opened in 2003 to replace the old Stade de Charmilles. It has space for 30,000 fans and is home to Servette, currently toiling in the Swiss second division. Three group stage matches will be held here.
The Letzigrund, home of FC Zürich, will be the scene of the three group stage matches in Euro 2008. It holds just over 30,000 fans. It is also plays host to the Weltklasse Zürich, an important annual athletics event. AUSTRIA Innsbruck is located in the west of Austria, in the heart of the Alps and two-time hosts of the Winter Olympics. In the midst of the snow and skiing some football does get played, and FC Wacker Innsbruck have won the Austrian championship 10 times, by far the most successful of any provincial club. It is the capital of the Austrian state of Tyrol and is easily the most important city of the general Tyrol region. The scenery, as you can imagine, is spectacular - Alpine mountain views abound.  The view from Innsbruck Three group stage matches will take place at the Tivoli-Neu stadium, expanded to 30,000 for the tournament. It is normally the home of the green and black of FC Wacker Innsbruck and replaces the older Tivoli stadium, once located nearby.
The Hypo-Arena (capacity 32,000) will be the scene of three group matches at Euro 2008. It is the home of Austria Kärnten, created in 2007 after the franchise of FC Superfund Pasching was transferred to Klagenfurt. They're not to be confused with FC Kärnten, currently in the Austrian Second Division, who were themselves once known as Austria Klagenfurt. If you're wondering Kärnten is the German version of Carinthia.
The Stadion Salzburg Wals-Seizenheim (aka EM-Stadion) has recently been expanded to seat 30,000 fans and is actually located in the town of Wals-Seizenheim, south of Salzburg. When not hosting the three Euro 2008 matches this summer it is the home of Red Bull Salzburg.  The Riesenrad Also located in the Prater is Ernst Happel Stadion, formerly known as the Prater Stadion. With a capacity of just over 50,000 it will play host to 6 matches, including all of Austria's group stage matches and three knockout round matches including the final. It has played host to a number of important matches over the years, including four European Cup or Champions League finals.
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