The Ottmar Hitzfeld Arena is a sports stadium located in the village of Gspon in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. At an elevation of 2,012 meters (6,600 feet) above sea level, it is the highest-altitude stadium in Europe. It serves as the home ground of the amateur football club FC Gspon and is named after the German football manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, who financed the installation of its artificial turf in 2009.
Location
The stadium is situated in the hamlet of Gspon, approximately 800 meters above the municipality of Staldenried. Gspon is a car-free village with only a handful of permanent residents; the broader Staldenried area has a population of over 500. Access to the stadium is by cable car from Staldenried. The location was chosen because lower-lying lands in the region are used for agriculture.
Design and Features
Football was originally played on a gravel surface at this site, later replaced by wood chips and sand. In 2009, a field of artificial turf was installed, funded by Ottmar Hitzfeld, then the manager of the Swiss national team. The pitch is smaller than a standard regulation football field and accommodates eight players per side rather than eleven; there is no offside rule. A safety net surrounds three sides of the pitch to prevent footballs from being kicked into the valley below, though it is reported that approximately a thousand footballs have been lost over the years. Up to 200 spectators attend home games, and there is no entrance fee. In winter, the pitch is covered by snow and used as part of a ski piste.
History
FC Gspon was established in 1974 and was active in amateur football in Valais until 1986. In 1984, with the support of FC Gspon, the Mountain Village Championship was established in Switzerland. The stadium hosted the European Football Championship of Mountain Villages, first held in 2008, which was organized in collaboration with the European Football Championship in Austria and Switzerland. Since 2008, FC Gspon has fielded both a men's and a women's team playing at the arena.
Reception
Reader's Digest ranked the Hitzfeld Stadium number one on its list of the world's "weirdest stadiums." Bleacher Report included the stadium on its list of 20 sports stadiums with the most beautiful views.
