Bayer Leverkusen have announced that they have been forced to move their final home match of 2008, and all their home fixtures in the second half of the 2008-09 season to Düsseldorf’s LTU Arena.
The club have been forced into the decision due to safety considerations over the re-building work going on to revamp the Bay-Arena. The have also announced that the cost of building the improved stadium have risen from an original €57 million to around €70 million.
The new stadium is expected to be ready for the start of the 2009-10 season. The capacity of the stadium is set to increase from 22,500 to 30,000.
The tiers of the new stadium will be covered by a circular, tent-like roof which will protrude the tiers on the long sides of the pitch and will therefore protect the spectators outside the ground from the rain.
The Arena will also eventually have a very special attraction. A huge Bayer cross with a diameter of 200 metres and made up of 2,000 transparent illuminating diodes is planned so that the world-famous company logo can be seen clearly from a great distance and from the air. This proposal however is still under discussion.
“At the end of this year we intend to start work on the erection of the new roof” explained Bayer managing director Wolfgang Holzhäuser.
“During this phase we will not be able to guarantee the safety of our spectators, therefore we have decided to move our home games to the state capital- Düsseldorf, and return to the new Bay-Arena for an opening ceremony in July 2009.
“We will be letting our spectators know about the logistics of playing our home games in Düsseldorf. We are thinking of laying on special transport to the state capital.”
Goal.com - Germany - Leverkusen Forced Into Düsseldorf Move