Stadion Rote Erde – Dortmund’s Former Home
Ask virtually anyone who knows anything at all about football, and they would almost certainly be able to tell you that Borussia Dortmund’s home ground is the Westfalenstadion.
They might call it by its sponsorship name of Signal Iduna Park, but it is one of the most famous football grounds in the world, thanks in no small part to the ‘Yellow Wall’ on the Südtribüne.
What not many people will know, however, is that it hasn’t always been the club’s home stadium, with the Stadion Rote Erde having that honour until 1974 when they left for their current ground.
History of the Stadion Rote Erde
The first plans for a football stadium in Dortmund date back to 1921. That was when the Municipality of Dortmund looked to build a ‘Volkspark’ in the southern area of the city, with architect Hans Strobel getting the job of designing the park.
The plan was for it to have a swimming pool and a multi-functional stadium within it, as well as the Westfalenhallen conference centre. It wasn’t until three years later that work on the stadium itself began, taking two years to go from ground being broken to the newly completed football ground opening.
It was inaugurated in 1926, and a little over a year later, a Katholikentag was hosted in the ground and the Westfalenhallen, organised by the man who would go on to become Pope Pius XII.
It was initially used for athletic meetings, with no football held there until the German football championship quarter-final in 1929, seeing Borussia Dortmund’s fierce rivals Schalke 04 losing 4-0 to Hertha BSC. There were years on, and the Deutschen Jugendkraft Sportverband championship game saw DJK Sparta Nuremberg win 5-2 over DJK Adler Frintrop.
Dortmund Move Into the Ground
The Second World War meant that Hoesch AG, a steel and mining company, had to extend its factories in the city of Dortmund. As a result, Borussia Dortmund was forced to leave the club’s stadium, Weisse Wiese, with the Stadion Rote Erde proving to be the ideal replacement.
They began playing there in 1937, witnessing it become heavily damaged thanks to bombs that landed upon it during the war. In the wake of the Second World War’s conclusion, the ground was renovated in order to fix the damage.
🇩🇪 Stadion Rote Erde
The home of Borussia Dortmund from 1937-1874, the Stadion Rote Erde is currently used for athletics and as the home ground of Borussia Dortmund II.
Definitely a bit of a throwback ground. The terracing looks class 🤩 pic.twitter.com/KTjbYUGRfr
— Forgotten Football Clubs (@_forgottenfooty) November 24, 2023
Between 1947 and 1967, Dortmund were one of West Germany’s most successful clubs. This meant that the stadium struggled to cope with the number of people turning up to watch matches there, so there were plans put in place to expand the ground or even build a new one where the Stade Rote Erde stood.
In the end, the economic crisis of the time meant that that couldn’t happen, so temporary wooden stands were erected at the start of the 1960s. The history of the ground meant that there was at least some desire to keep it as a going concern, even if it couldn’t be improved upon.
@groundhopper.offi The Westfalenstadion🏟️⚽️ Fun Fact: Before moving to the iconic Westfalenstadion, Borussia Dortmund‘s earlier home was the Rote Erde Stadion, right next to the Westfalen Stadion.🏟️ #groundhopper #football #iconic #bvb #bvb09 #westfalenstadion #signalidunapark #tradtional ♬ Luminary – Joel Sunny
It had hosted an international match when the Third Reich played the Irish Free State in the May of 1935, for example, and when West Germany defeated Albania 6-0 in the April of 1967. For Dortmund, though, the ground wasn’t big enough, and an agreement was made with the Municipality of Dortmund to see a new stadium built directly to the west of it.
When the Westfalenstadion was completed in 1974, Borussia Dortmund moved to it and began to call it their new home from that point onwards, with the likes of the roof of the Stadion Rote Erde sent to be used in Hannover instead.
Modern Use of the Stadium
In spite of the older nature of the ground, there was a desire from many to keep it within the Dortmund family. The result of that is that the modern use of the Stadion Rote Erde is as the home of Borussia Dortmund II, BVB’s second team, as well as for some of the Borussia Dortmund’s women’s team’s matches.
There is enough room for just shy of 10,000 people when it is used for football matches, whilst around 25,000 people can be accepted into it when it is the location for athletic meets.
#FotoVorschlag ‘Heimspiel‘
Rote Erde
#Ruhrgebiet #Dortmund #RoteErde #Fußball #Frauen #Kreisliga
— traveling word (@travelingword.bsky.social) 5 March 2025 at 14:10
The stadium underwent major renovations in December of 2008, seeing more than €1.5 million spent on it. In spite of this, it still didn’t meet the requirements for the German Football Association when Borussia Dortmund II made it to the 3.
Liga for the first time in the 2009-2010 season. An exception was made to allow the ground to be used for their matches, including when the club was promoted back to the 3. Liga for the 2012-2013 campaign.
