page_title: Arena AufSchalke
section_title: Roof and pitch
hierarchical_section_title: Arena AufSchalke / Roof and pitch
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Arena AufSchalke, die bewegliche Rasenwanne außerhalb des Stadions unterhalb der Südtribüne English: Arena AufSchalke, the slide out pitch outside the stadium unterneath the southern block
context_page_description: Arena AufSchalke is an indoor football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04.
  It hosted the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final and five matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, including a quarter-final. It has a capacity of 62,271 for league matches and 54,740 for international matches. The stadium has a retractable roof and a retractable pitch. The naming rights to the stadium were sold on 1 July 2005 to German brewery Veltins.
context_section_description: The Veltins-Arena features a Teflon-coated fiberglass canvas retractable roof, which spans the entire stadium. The roof is supported by a rectangular truss that is suspended above the field, which is in turn connected to the main building via 24 steel pylons. The center of the roof can be opened into two halves, allowing for an opened or covered stadium, depending on weather and event. To reduce the exterior noise of up to 105 decibels during concerts, a second layer of Teflon-coated fiberglass canvas was added over the first, creating a dampening air cushion. Hanging 25 metres (82 ft) over the center of the pitch are four video screens, each with a surface area of 35 square metres (380 sq ft). The centrally suspended scoreboard, similar to those found inside indoor sports arenas, was the first of its kind in football stadium, and has since been copied in the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt and the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf.
  Like the Sapporo Dome in Japan, the State Farm Stadium in the U.S. and the GelreDome in the Netherlands, the Veltins-Arena features a slide-out pitch. Supported by a 11,400-tonne (11,200-long-ton; 12,600-short-ton) substructure, the playing field can be moved in and out of the stadium within four hours. This has several advantages:
  The grass playing surface can grow under normal outside conditions without suffering from a lack of circulation and light as in other arenas.
  The football pitch is not damaged during indoor events such as concerts.
  The floor of the multi-functional hall can be converted and retro-fitted within a short amount of time.
  The outside area that is not occupied by the field can be used as parking facilities for buses during football matches.
caption: An exterior view of the slide out pitch, underneath the southern wing
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