Hardtwaldstadion , currently known as GP Stadion am Hardtwald for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Sandhausen , Germany . Situated in a small patch of forest near the Sandhausen town limits, it is the home stadium of local football team SV Sandhausen . The stadium is owned by the club.
25-409: The stadium was opened in 1951 and was originally equipped with a clay pitch. A grass pitch was installed in 1961. The structure underwent expansion in 1987/88, when a roofed all-seater main stand was added. Further renovation works were conducted in 2001 with the addition of floodlights and in 2008 with several modifications to meet standards for the 3. Liga . These included adding a temporary stand with
50-419: A capacity of 2,500, installation of a video scoreboard, expansion of press and police facilities and the building of a VIP house. Afterwards, Hardtwaldstadion could hold 10,231 spectators. Due to the promotion of the team to 2. Bundesliga , the stadium received some more improvements during 2012 summer break. Among these were under-soil heating , a platform for TV-cameras as well as two new stands, which raised
75-548: A grass surface) which heats the underside of the pitch to avoid any elements from bad weather, such as snow and ice, from building up and ultimately helps the club avoid having to postpone any matches. Most English Premier League teams now have this installed in their stadiums. While it is not an official requirement, it avoids any financial loss that a club might face in having to postpone any matches due to bad weather. The first ground in England to have under-soil heating installed
100-475: A network of corrosion-resistant metal pipes laid beneath the soil or turf. These pipes are connected to a central heating unit that contains energy-efficient heating elements. When the system is activated, the heating unit circulates warm water or air through the pipes, effectively raising the soil temperature. Modern versions of this technology often include automated control units that allow for real-time monitoring and precise temperature adjustments, ensuring that
125-484: A new all-seater stadium away from Burnden Park and, by 1995, had identified a location at Horwich as the preferred site of a new stadium. The lead consultant/architect of the project was Lobb Sports, while local firm Bradshaw Gass & Hope acted as planning supervisors and quantity surveyors . The contractor was Birse Construction , and Deakin Callard & Partners provided structural engineering services. The value of
150-746: Is situated near to the south-west corner of the stadium and was officially revealed by club owner Eddie Davies in a special ceremony. Club chaplain Phil Mason, chairman Phil Gartside and the son of Nat Lofthouse – Jeff Lofthouse, also took part in the ceremony as did sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn . Hedges-Quinn had taken 18 months overall to complete the project having worked successfully on the statues such as that of Bob Stokoe at The Stadium of Light , Ted Bates at St Mary's Stadium and Sir Bobby Robson and Alf Ramsey at Portman Road . The stadium's West Stand lies about 200 metres from Horwich Parkway railway station situated between Lostock and Blackrod on
175-411: The 3. Liga , the contract with BWT was not continued, as the company wanted to realign its sponsorship portfolios. Starting in the 2023–24 season , GP Gölz Paletten GmbH from Zweibrücken became the new name sponsor on a "long-term" contract, so the stadium was officially renamed GP Stadion am Hardtwald. Under-soil heating Under-soil heating is a method used in various sports stadia (with
200-532: The Manchester to Preston Line . Football specials used to operate to and from the station on matchdays in the past, but not in recent years . When the Wanderers play at home, bus services are laid on by the club from across the borough. On non-matchdays, Horwich Parkway is served by two trains an hour in each direction, operated by Northern . Numerous routes serve bus stops near or at the ground, operated by TfGM under
225-629: The National Football League also have such a system installed. With American football, it is more a matter of player safety, since NFL games are never postponed on account of cold weather. There have been numerous occasions where under-soil heating's effectiveness has been questioned. One notable incident happened on December 27, 2005, when three stadia in the FA Premier League , supposedly equipped with under-soil heating, failed to stop their pitches being covered in thick snow - this led to
250-562: The NFL Championship game. The game would go on to be remembered as the "Ice Bowl" . This sports-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . University of Bolton Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a football stadium in Horwich , Bolton , Greater Manchester , England, and is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers Football Club , with an all-seated capacity of 28,723. Opening in 1997, it
275-640: The Third Division in 1983 and later spent a season in the Fourth Division. In January 1990, the Taylor Report required all clubs in the first and second tiers of the English league to have an all-seater stadium by the 1994-95 season . Bolton were still in the Third Division at that stage, but were aiming for promotion - which was finally achieved in 1993. By that time, the club's owners had decided to relocate to
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#1732872178644300-521: The away end) at the other end; the Kia (West) Stand at one side of the pitch; and the Nat Lofthouse (east) Stand on the other side. When the stadium was named after long-time team sponsor Reebok in 1997, fans considered the title impersonal and believed that too much emphasis was being placed on financial considerations. That opposition lessened considerably after the stadium was built, as fans grew accustomed to
325-446: The capacity to about 12.100 spectators. If the team manages to establish itself in 2nd Liga, another two stands have to be added, backing the western goal area and the southern area, to extend the capacity to about 15.000. In March 2017, BWT , a manufacturer of speciality chemicals and systems for water treatment , acquired the naming rights to the stadium, which was then officially named BWT-Stadion am Hardtwald. After relegation to
350-668: The contract was £25 million (US$ 42.1 million). The stadium is noted for its distinctive gabled architecture, first pioneered by the Kirklees Stadium . The stadium was opened in 1997 by John Prescott , a Labour Party politician, who was the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time. The stadium consists of four stands: The Carrs Pasties (North) Stand at one end; the South Stand (Franking Sense and also
375-426: The facilities of the stadium for most of its teaching and learning. However, this closed in 2017 due to low pupil numbers which made it 'not financially viable'. Bolton Wanderers unveiled a bronze statue of their most famous player, Nat Lofthouse (1925–2011), prior to a game against Queens Park Rangers on 24 August 2013. The statue, which cost £100,000 and funded via the generosity of public donations and sponsors,
400-561: The matches being postponed. Subsequently, on January 1, 2006, the Premier League investigated as to why the pitches at Reebok Stadium ( Bolton Wanderers ), Ewood Park ( Blackburn Rovers ) and St. James' Park ( Newcastle United ) were not able to repel the snow. In the U.S., a notable example of the failure of an under-soil heating system occurred in 1967, when a newly installed system at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin failed before
425-525: The name and were bolstered by Reebok's status as a local company. The Macron branding was applied in July 2014, after the Bolton Wanderers club finalised a partnership with the large Italian sportswear brand. In April 2014, long-serving club chairman Phil Gartside stated that he was "proud" to be associated with Macron and had "been very impressed with their [Macron's] passion for football". A four-year duration
450-456: The rooms offer views of the pitch. The stadium is an all-seater stadium with a capacity of almost 29,000 and was completed in 1997, replacing the club's old ground, Burnden Park . By the 1980s, Burnden Park, which at its peak had held up to 60,000 spectators, was becoming increasingly dilapidated, and a section of terracing was sold off for redevelopment as a supermarket to help pay off the club's rising debts. Bolton Wanderers had dropped into
475-648: The soil temperature is maintained at a level that prevents the formation of ice and snow. In Germany under-soil heating is mandatory for division 1 and 2 Bundesliga clubs. The first ground to have it installed was the Olympic Stadium of Munich in 1972. In the Czech Republic , despite the league having a winter break, the Czech First League requires all participating teams to play on surfaces with under-soil heating. Several American football teams in
500-455: The stadium between 15 and 21 November 2021. The stadium has also hosted seven rugby league matches. In 2018, the stadium hosted the first ever double-header semi-finals of the Challenge Cup , repeated in 2019. In 2014, the club established Bolton Wanderers Free School at the stadium. It was a sixth form centre offering sports and related courses for 16- to 19-year-olds, and utilised
525-458: The stadium hosted a campaign rally by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn . In March and April 2021, the stadium held Crown Court cases due to the large amount that had built up as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic whilst the actual Courts were closed. In the same year it was a venue for COVID-19 vaccinations. A professional snooker tournament, the 2021 Champion of Champions , was hosted at
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#1732872178644550-438: Was Goodison Park in 1958. The pitch at Old Trafford has 18.4 miles (29.6 km) of under-soil heating and at Elland Road there is an under-soil heating system installed beneath the surface, consisting of 59 miles (95 km) of piping. Under-soil heating technology is designed to address the challenges of adverse weather conditions, specifically the accumulation of ice and snow on ground surfaces. The system consists of
575-742: Was negotiated for the Macron deal and the club had the option to extend at completion. When the deal with Macron came to an end in August 2018, the stadium was again renamed, this time as the University of Bolton Stadium. On 1 July 2023, the stadium name was changed to The Toughsheet Community Stadium, with the deal set to last for five years. The stadium has hosted concerts by Oasis , Pink , Elton John , Coldplay , The Killers , Little Mix and Rod Stewart . The music video for Coldplay’s 2005 single Fix You uses footage filmed at their Horwich concerts. The track
600-589: Was originally named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok . In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming rights deal with Italian sportswear company Macron . It was renamed the University of Bolton Stadium in 2018. From 1 July 2023 it became known as the Toughsheet Community Stadium, after a Bolton-based recyclable building product manufacturer. A hotel forms part of the stadium and some of
625-667: Was performed twice on each night so enough footage could be captured. The stadium also hosted the UK Open Darts Championship , boxing matches with local boxer Amir Khan and in 2011 Premiership rugby union , when Sale Sharks lost to London Irish . It will also host group matches and the quarter-final of the Rugby League World Cup in 2021. The venue's Premier Suite is home to the UK's leading amateur mixed martial arts event, Full Contact Contender. In August 2019,
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