Status: 10/17/2021 9:18 p.m.
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Part of the grandstand in the Nijmegen stadium collapsed when guests from Arnhem hopped on it. Researchers have been warning of dangers in Germany for a long time.
The pictures from Nijmegen in the Netherlands are frightening: while fans of Vitesse Arnhem celebrate their team hopping, the grandstand collapses below them. Because only the lower part of the structure is affected and a container underneath slows the fall, the scene goes off lightly. The fans only fall a short distance – and then even continue to celebrate. Her team, Vitesse Arnheim, won the game at NEC Nijmegen 1-0.
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“Fortunately, as far as we know, nobody was injured,” said Nijmegen’s Mayor Hubert Bruls: “I want an investigation into what happened here as soon as possible.” Bruls had watched the game with his colleague from Arnhem.
The collapsed grandstand in Nijemgen
Bild: imago images/Pro Shots
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Fatalities in Brazil
An example from Brazil from 2007 shows how fatal such a collapse can be. There, the grandstand in Salvador de Bahia collapsed among celebrating fans. Several fans fell 15 meters, eight people died.
Warning of dangerous vibrations
Thereupon civil engineers from the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) drew attention to the fact that such a tragedy was also possible in Germany. With the help of load models, the EKIB research team (Design Fundamentals in Structural Engineering) calculates the effects of spectator behavior on the structure.
“Our simulations show that the dynamic loads of the hopping viewers are three and a half to four and a half times higher than the static loads,” said Michael Kasperski, head of the research team. In 2011 Kasperski warned in a Reuters interview with a view to possible design flaws in German stadiums: “I am concerned that a catastrophe could happen next Saturday or in three years or in ten years.”
The grandstand in Magdeburg on the test stand
Also in Magdeburg, where the fans of the FCM like to party by jumping, threatening vibrations were measured and concrete damage was found in 2016. The grandstand was reinforced by construction work and subjected to an endurance test in 2019. This was successful, so that the fans can continue to hop.
2019: The stadium roof in Alkmaar collapses
In the Netherlands, the AZ Alkmaar stadium also caused negative headlines in 2019. Part of the roof structure collapsed during a storm with violent gusts of wind. Nobody was injured, the stadium was empty at the time of the collapse.
Those: sportschau.de
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