About this place

Original Stadium (1956)

The original Zentralstadion was constructed between 1955 and 1956 under the supervision of architect Karl Souradny. The stands were built using 1.5 million cubic meters of rubble from World War II ruins. Inaugurated on August 4, 1956, during the second Deutsches Turn- und Sportfest, it had a staggering capacity of 100,000 spectators, making it the second largest stadium in Europe at the time, just behind Prague’s Strahov Stadium.
It was a multi-sport venue featuring a football pitch and an athletics track.

Between 1992 and 1995, VfB Leipzig played their home games there due to the poor condition of the Bruno-Plache-Stadion. Though its capacity had been limited to 37,000, it drew around 38,000 fans for the Bundesliga promotion playoff against Mainz 05 on June 6, 1993.

In the following years, the stadium fell into disrepair and became financially unsustainable for the city to maintain.

Reconstruction (2000–2004)

At the turn of the millennium, Leipzig decided to build a new stadium on the site of the old one. The reconstruction took place from December 2000 to March 2004.
During construction, the 2002 Deutsches Turnfest gymnastics festival held two events in the partially built venue.

The first football match in the completed stadium was played on March 7, 2004, when FC Sachsen Leipzig faced Borussia Dortmund’s reserves in front of 28,595 spectators.
An international pre-season tournament followed on July 17, 2004, featuring Red Star Belgrade, Werder Bremen, and Club Brugge.
Germany’s national team played its first match in the new Zentralstadion on November 17, 2004, defeating Cameroon 3–0 in a friendly.

Architecture and Capacity

The new stadium was built within the bowl of the former Zentralstadion, with bridges connecting the old earthwork stands to the modern inner structure. The roof, equipped with a sprinkler system, was specially designed to enhance acoustics for concerts.

The field measures 80 × 120 meters, with a playing area of 68 × 105 meters.
Originally offering 44,345 seats, the capacity was reduced to 42,959 in 2015 to expand VIP and press areas, then increased to 47,069 in August 2021.

Anecdotes and Legacy

The stadium holds a bit of World Cup lore: on June 18, 2006, during the France–South Korea match (1–1), Zinedine Zidane reportedly kicked a door in frustration after receiving a yellow card. The stadium director initially considered billing the French FA but ultimately kept the door as a memento of “one of football’s all-time greats.”

Red Bull Arena (since 2010)

On July 1, 2010, the venue was officially renamed Red Bull Arena, marking the start of a new chapter with RB Leipzig as its primary tenant. A friendly against Schalke 04 inaugurated the stadium under its new identity. Since then, it has become a symbol of Leipzig’s football renaissance and one of Germany’s top modern venues.