An area close to the Mewa Arena, home of the Mainz 05was evacuated after the discovery of a bomb in Second World War. The artifact was found on Wednesday during renovation work at the stadium. The disarming of the object is scheduled for this Friday, the 26th, at 7 am (Brasília time).
According to Mainz city hall, the bomb weighs 500 kilos. It is estimated that the evacuation area is home to 3,500 people. All must be outside the 750 meter perimeter by 5am (Brasília time) this Friday. The recommendation is that, even if a person is not in the delimited area, but somewhere nearby, an alternative location is sought. The bomb was identified as US Army weapons.
Mainz 05 usually organizes press conferences on Fridays, but has postponed coach Bo Henriksen’s meeting with the press to this Thursday, due to disarmament. The team has a game against Cologne at the Mewa Arena on Sunday. So far, there is no change to the calendar.
The match is crucial for both teams, who are fighting relegation in the German Championship. Mainz is in 15th, with 27 points, five more than Cologne, which is 17th. In the Bundesliga, the last two placed teams (17th and 18th) are automatically relegated, while the 16th placed team competes in a play-off against the third placed team in the second division. The title has already been decided, with Bayer Leverkusen winning, the first in the history of the club coached by Xabi Alonso. The team is undefeated and is trying to finish the championship without defeats.
This is not the first World War II bomb found decades later near a football stadium. In 2015, an area near Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park was evacuated for the same reason. In the same year, Wembley Stadium, in London, also experienced the situation. Mainz had an artifact found on April 15, but it had less destructive power and it was not necessary to evacuate.
