Thirdly, a World War II bomb was found in the home stadium of Duisburg, which plays at the highest level, during the repair work, but it was dismantled.
On May 12, MSV Duisburg faced FC Erzgebirge Auen in the German 3. Liga in their last home match of the season. At that time, it was not yet known that the players and nearly 12,000 spectators were covered in smoke an unexploded bomb from World War II.
On Tuesday (28.5), an English 500-kilogram bomb was found under the grass in connection with the stadium field repair work.
The area around the stadium was then isolated from a radius of 300 meters. The unexploded bomb was dismantled later that day.
For 20 years, Duisburg has played its home matches on top of an unexploded bomb. The stadium was completed in 2004. Duisburg is located in western Germany near the city of Düsseldorf.
MSV-Arena’s capacity covers 31,500 stands. The arena in question has also hosted several events over the years, such as the World Games in 2005. The stadium is also the home field of the American football team Rhein Fire.
MSV Duisburg finished 18th in the 3rd Liga in the season that ended, which is why the club will play in the Regionalliga next season below the league level. The team still played in the German Bundesliga in the 1990s.
Another wartime bomb was also found in Germany this week, when a 250-kilogram bomb was found in Bochum, more than 40 kilometers from the Duisburg stadium. 900 residents of the surrounding area had to leave their homes during the detonation of the bomb.
Also close to the home stadium of Mainz 05, which plays in Germany’s highest league level, the Bundesliga a bomb was found in April.