Client: City of Erfurt
Architect: HPP Hentrich-Petschnigg & Partner, Düsseldorf
General contractor: Köster Bau GmbH, Osnabrück
Steel construction contractor: Stahlbau Perthel, Bad Lobenstein
Opening: 2017
Team: FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt
Location: Erfurt, Germany
Products: Celsius 355 and Hybox 355 hollow section profiles (square and rectangular)

The challenge

The stadium in Erfurt has a tradition of holding a number of exciting events over its 85-year history. To make it suitable for the future as a multifunctional arena, the facility has been comprehensively refurbished and modernised.

This included an extension in the form of a circumferential grandstand roof that was constructed whilst the arena was in operation.

The solution

The octagonal new grandstand adjoins the existing, slightly arched west stand to the north and south. A welded construction made from [structural hollow sections] was predetermined for the 20m long cantilevered steel truss beams that carry the new tribune roof.The construction was precisely evaluated as to where hot-finished and where cold-formed hollow sections should be used.

Based on the technical differences for example corner radii, welding properties, residual stresses and flexural buckling resistance, a targeted product selection was made.

The girders were completely manufactured in the workshop and delivered using special transportation to the construction site.

The work on the North and South stands could not be done simultaneously and had to be coordinated closely with the city administration and the club FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt.

At least every other weekend, whilst construction was taking place, there had to be seats available for up to 10,000 football fans during the playing season.

After two years of construction, the modernised Steigerwaldstadion was officially opened in January 2017.

Since then, Rot-Weiß Erfurt regularly play in front of a much larger crowd and the German Athletics Championships took place there in July.