Snow tears through roof of Schalke's stadium after heavy snowfall

Heavy snowfall in Germany has caused part of the roof to collapse at
the Veltins Arena, which hosts Bundesliga soccer team Schalke 04.

The stadium, in Gelsenkirchen, stages all Schalke's home games and was
also due to hold the annual biathlon World Team Challenge later this
week.

But the event has been cancelled after a deluge of snow over Christmas
created a hole measuring 1,000 square meters in the roof. Three fibre
glass strips that hold the roof in place were destroyed.

"The holes are not going to be closed in time,'' Schalke's chairman
Peter Peters said of the biathlon on the club's official website. "The
safety of the spectators is the utmost priority.''

The Bundesliga is currently on its winter break with Schalke not
scheduled to play at the Veltins Arena until January 15 when they host
Hamburg.

But that match is not thought to be in danger, as it can be played
with the roof open.

Peters added: "I am optimistic that we will be able to start the
second half of the season according to schedule."

Staff had cleared an earlier downfall prior to Christmas but were
unable to get onto the roof after that due to harsh weather
conditions.

The stadium was opened in 2001 and can hold 61,482 spectators. It
played host to the 2004 UEFA Champions League final and staged five
games in the World Cup of 2006

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