EURO 2008 INFO

Austria's showcase stadium for the European Championship has a dark past.

The Ernst-Happel Stadium, which will host the Euro 2008 final on June 29, opened in 1931 as the Prater Stadium but was then converted into barracks in the Nazi era and later used to detain Jews for racial studies before they were deported.

The stadium, one of eight to be used at this year's tournament in Austria and Switzerland, was severely damaged by allied bombings and rebuilt in the mid-1950's. A renovation followed about 30 years later.

Originally named after Vienna's Prater recreation area, the stadium was dedicated in 1993 in honor of Ernst Happel, one of the most successful and colorful coaches in Europe who also had an impressive 20-year playing career. He died in 1992 at age 66.

Happel's teams won 17 national and European trophies, including eight league titles and six European cups.

Ahead of Euro 2008, the stadium underwent a €36.9 million (US$57.9 million) facelift that was completed last year. It now seats about 53,000 fans, meets the latest technology and infrastructure guidelines and has been ranked as a five-star venue by UEFA.

Other upgrades include a heating system under the field, two modern video walls, an electronic access control system and an air-conditioned VIP club that fits 900 people.

The stadium, which hosted the 1995 Champions League final between Ajax and AC Milan, will feature seven matches at Euro 2008, starting with Austria vs. Croatia on June 8.

The other three venues to be used in Austria are the Tivoli NEU Stadium in Innsbruck, the Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim Stadium and the Woerthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt, known as "UFO" because of its shape.

In Switzerland, the Stade de Suisse in Bern, which is also known as the Wankdorf, St. Jakob Park in Basel, the Stade de Geneve and the Letzigrund in Zurich will be used.

The Stade de Suisse is probably the most well-known soccer stadium in Switzerland, mainly because it hosted "The Miracle of Bern" in the 1954 World Cup final.

In that match, West Germany upset a supposedly invincible Hungary 3-2, rallying to win and restoring hope and self-belief to a nation still suffering from the ravages and humiliation of losing a war.

The stadium was torn down in 2001 and rebuilt on the same spot at a cost of US$560 million (€350 million).

The old clock and scoreboard still stand frozen in time from 54 years earlier in front of the new stadium, which includes a shopping center and school on site.

The 32,000-capacity arena, which will feature games involving the Netherlands, Italy, France and Romania, uses power generated by more than 10,000 solar panels on the roof, the biggest stadium project of its kind in the world.

It generally has artificial turf so that concerts can be staged during the soccer season, but a natural grass surface is being laid for Euro 2008.

An ice hockey game between Bern and Langnau was played at the stadium in January 2007, with more than 30,076 fans setting a European outdoor hockey attendance record.

St. Jakob Park is the largest stadium in Switzerland, and it will host all three of the co-hosts matches in the first round. With a capacity of 42,500, the stadium packs spectators into grandstands that hug the sidelines and hold in the noise.

That will leave little peace for the elderly people whose apartments form part of the stadium complex, which also includes a railway station and a shopping center.

Switzerland will kick off the tournament against the Czech Republic on June 7 at the stadium, which will also host two quarterfinals and a semifinal.

The modern St. Jakob Park, affectionately known as the "Joggeli," reopened in 2001 after a US$220 million (€138 million) upgrade. A grass surface was laid in April to replace the artificial turf used by FC Basel, local boy Roger Federer's favorite team.

The Letzigrund in Zurich is better known as an athletics venue and was not part of the original Euro 2008 plan.

It is the traditional home of FC Zurich, which lost to Liverpool at the stadium in the 1977 European Cup semifinals, but its fame comes from the annual Weltklasse athletics meet.

Often called the "one-day Olympics," the Weltklasse has seen 24 world records.

The Stade de Geneve is home to Swiss second division team Servette and has a capacity for 30,000 fans. That is more than the total number of fans who filed through the turnstiles in the entire season. Just 839 spectators watched Servette beat FC Vaduz in March.

The stadium opened in 2003 on the south side of the city center, overlooked from the French side of the border by the Saleve mountain. It is tucked into a small patch of land between rail tracks and a highway, with a shopping center and hotel attached.

The "UFO" in Klagenfurt opened in September 2007 and is located near the picturesque Lake Woerther and within a short drive of the Italian and Slovenian borders. The multifunctional stadium was designed along the lines of St. Jakob Park and seats about 30,000 fans.

Home of FC Wacker Innsbruck, the Tivoli NEU Stadium is close to both the city center and the imposing Tyrollean Alps.

The multifunctional stadium's seating capacity has been doubled to about 30,000 and it is easily accessible by public transportation. The arena is also used for American football games, as well as concerts and other large-scale events.

The Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim Stadium, home to FC Red Bull Salzburg, opened in March 2003 with a capacity of about 18,700. Following an expansion that involved the dramatic lifting of its roof, it now seats about 30,000.

The stadium, which has temporarily replaced its artificial turf with a grass surface, will host all three Greece matches at Euro 2008, with the defending champions taking on Sweden, Spain and Russia.