Sport on the Neckar and at the Waldau
The Waldau – a former climatic health resort
Stuttgart has a multitude of sports facilities, both for basic as well as for top athletic performances. There are over 400 sports clubs and sporting organisations with about 165,000 members.
The richly traditional Waldau in Stuttgart-Degerloch, located on an area of 41 hectares, has the second largest sports area of the city. In the middle of the 19th century, Degerloch, which was still independent at that time, was even conferred the distinction of a mountain air health resort. The local Degerloch branch of the Swabian Alb Association, one of the largest in the country, was founded in 1894. Today there are about 11,300 members in 16 associations in the Waldau sports and recreation area. The grounds are surrounded on three sides by forest at the foot of the television tower, and serve an important function as an inner-city recreational area.
Skating has a long tradition here. At the end of the 19th century skaters still practiced their sport on a spray ice rink. Over the years a modern ice sports centre developed, completely modernised in the autumn of 2011 and named “Stuttgart Ice World”.
One of the largest climbing facilities worldwide is located in the DAV climbing centre. All climbing routes together add up to a total length of six kilometres. One can climb indoors and outdoors, whatever the weather. A height of up to 16 metres is offered, overhangs of up to 17 metres, 3,700 s.qm. of climbing area and about 460 different climbing routes. The football team SV Stuttgarter Kickers plays their home games in the GAZi Stadium in Waldau. It has a capacity of about 11,400 spectators. The Kickers have been contesting their games here since 1905. Also, the third league team VfB Stuttgart II has played here since 2008. In the GAZi Stadium, visitors can also watch the games of the Stuttgart Scorpions, one of the most traditional and successful American football teams in southern Germany.
The Waldau sports and recreational area
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