Excavators at Work at Hardturm

Photo report on the demolition of the old football stadium in Zurich. https://web.archive.org/web/20081207091122/http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/zuerich/stadt/Im-Hardturm-sind-die-Bagger-am-Werk/story/28644353 With the demolition of Zurich's Hardturm, a piece of sports history comes to an end. The football stadium was built over a two-year construction period in 1929. In addition to a proper grandstand, earth embankments were created for spectators. The capacity was 27,500 people. A running track rounded off the stadium, as noted in the 2005 New Year's publication of the CVP section of Zurich's District 5. GC and International Matches The stadium in the west of Zurich made a name for itself primarily as the home of Zurich's Grasshoppers. 27 times Swiss champions and 18 times cup winners is the club's impressive record. However, some of these titles were won before the Hardturm was built. The national team also regularly played matches at Hardturm. The first international match took place on 4 May 1930. The black market reportedly flourished in the preceding week. In the grand hotel «Baur au Lac», prices of over 200 francs were said to have been offered. At the 1954 World Cup, when Germany achieved the «Miracle of Bern», five matches took place at Zurich's Hardturm. On 11 April 1956, a first occurred: the match between Switzerland and Brazil (1:1) was the first in Switzerland to be played under floodlights. For Nati fans, 17 November 1993 also remains memorable. With a 4-0 victory over Estonia, Switzerland qualified for a World Cup again after 28 years. Later, it was GC once more that set the final sporting highlights with Champions League matches against Real Madrid and Ajax Amsterdam. Two Fires Excitement at Hardturm was not only due to sports: on the night of 16 to 17 May 1934, the grandstand burned down. The suspected arson was never proven. The firebug struck the stadium a second time in June 1968. This time the North Stand was reduced to ashes. Here too, the cause remained unclear. On a weekend in July 2008, left-wing activists occupied the facility, which had been disused since September 2007. They held a counter-event to Euro 2008, which they lambasted because of the alleged «commercialisation of football». Never a New Building An actual new building never materialised in the stadium's 78-year history. Time and again, only individual grandstands were rebuilt or partially renovated. Accordingly, the stadium had looked disjointed until now. In the early 1950s, a new stadium was discussed in view of the 1954 World Cup. It was to be built near the familiar location for 8.9 million francs. After the city parliament accepted the proposal, the electorate rejected it decisively. Will the New Stadium Come? When a new stadium will be built on the site remains open. The project for a football arena costing around 350 million francs with an integrated shopping centre has been the subject of a legal dispute since October 2003. (rw/sda) Created: 04.12.2008, 12:28 PM