Paul Greifzu Stadium (Stralsund)

For the stadium of the same name in Dessau-Roßlau, see Paul Greifzu Stadium (Dessau-Roßlau).

Paul Greifzu Stadium
Map
LocationBarther Str. 58, 18437 Stralsund, Germany
Coordinates54°18′47″N 13°03′14″E / 54.31306°N 13.05389°E / 54.31306; 13.05389
Capacity20,000
Field size385 metres
Opened6 July 1958

Paul Greifzu Stadium (German: Paul Greifzu Stadion) is a multi-purpose stadium (primarily motorcycle speedway) in Stralsund, Germany.[1] The stadium is located on the western side of the city, off the Barther Straße.[2] The MC Nordstern Stralsund e.V use the facility.[3][4]

History

In 1957, construction began on the stadium, organised by the city council with lottery funds. The following year in April 1958, the Stralsund Speedway Club was founded and the stadium opened by Mayor Motczinski on 6 July 1958 with an attendance of 20,000. The name came from a car racing driver called Paul Greifzu who died in a race Dessau in 1952.[3]

The stadium has been a significant venue for motorcycle speedway and hosted important events. These included a qualifying round of the 1968 Speedway World Team Cup[5] and a qualifying round of the Speedway World Championship in 1969.[6][7]

MC Nordster rider Hartmut Ernst won the East German Individual Speedway Championship in 1977[3] and the track held the final rounds of the national individual and team Championships many times.

The team based at the stadium won the German Team Speedway Championship in 2015 and 2022.[3]

In recent years the stadium continues to hold major events, which have included the 2016 Team Speedway Junior European Championship final, a final round of the 2021 Speedway Under-21 World Championship[8] and the 2023 European Team Speedway Championship final.[9][10]

On 22 April 2023, the 385 metre track record was broken by Dominik Kubera, who recorded 66.47 sec.

References

  1. ^ "Miles and miles - all for the love of it". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 9 May 1998. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "Paul-Greifzu-Stadion". Hallenbelegung. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Home Page". MC Nordstern Stralsund e.V. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Stralsund Germany". Speedway Plus. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  5. ^ "1968 Speedway World Cup". International Speedway. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  6. ^ "1969 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  7. ^ "1969 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  8. ^ "OVERALL SEASON CLASSIFICATION". Speedway U21. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  9. ^ "2023 European Team Speedway Championship Rounds". FIM. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  10. ^ "2023 European Team Speedway Championship FINAL". FIM. Retrieved 1 May 2023.