The Rundsporthalle was opened by the former Leverkusen mayor Wilhelm Dopatka, Dieter Kürten was the host at the opening event that included mini-football, music and dance. The singer Bata Illic, the duo Nina & Mike plus the Bayer 04 Veterans team led by goalkeeping legend Fredy Mutz provided an entertaining evening. Berti Vogts, Wolfgang Kleff and Wolfgang Fahrian were there along with Manfred Ommer, the Olympic medal winners Rita Wilden and Harald Norpoth and Olympic championr Willi Holdorf. A USA basketball team from the German Bundesliga played for ten minutes against the TuS 04 basketball side.
Just one month later, several of the downlighters at the Rundsporthalle fail during the first competitive match for the women's basketball side. The technicians are unable to effect a repair during an eight-minute break. Despite the reduced lighting, the match is concluded.
Up to February 2009, the sports hall was officially named the Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle after the longstanding Leverkusen mayor. It was later renamed the Smidt Arena after a new sponsor. Since the takeover of the furniture store by the Ostermann company, the hall has been called the Ostermann Arena since October 2016.
Thomas Hörster was born in Essen on 27 November 1956. As a child, he took part in high diving and judo, but was also passionate about football. After starting out at Blau-Weiß Holsterhausen-Essen, he moved on to ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen. As a U19 player, he trained with the senior side for the first time. And at just under 18 years of age, Thommy – as he is known – made his debut in Bundesliga 2. Over two-and-a-half seasons, he made 71 appearances for Schwarz-Weiß Essen.
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Bernd Dreher was born in Leverkusen on 2 November 1966 and he began playing football at SV Schlebusch at the age of five. At the age of nine, he joined the youth academy at Bayer 04. There, the goalkeeper progressed through all the youth teams and, with the U19s in 1985, he reached the final of the German Championship, that Bayer 04 lost 4-2 to Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Robson Ponte was born on 6 November 1976 in São Paulo. He began his football career in Brazil with CA Juventus. He then played for América FC and Guarani FC. In 1999, he joined Bayer 04. Robson initially played for the Werkself until 2001. He then moved to VfL Wolfsburg on a two-year loan. There, he continued to develop and gained valuable experience in the Bundesliga. In 2003, he returned to Leverkusen, where he particularly showcased his dribbling skills and his ability in attacking midfield. In total, he made 79 appearances for Bayer 04 and scored six goals.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of November. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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On Sunday, 4 November 1951, the first league derby between Bayer 04 and FC Köln took place. The FC Köln stadium in Müngersdorf was absolutely bursting at the seams for this clash. A veritable invasion of Bayer 04 fans from Leverkusen set off for Cologne by tram and bus. From midday onwards, in addition to the scheduled services, six extra tram services ran at the standard fare from Leverkusen Town Hall to the stadium in Cologne. At the same time, buses operated by Grein ran regularly from Wiesdorf market square to Cologne. In the end, over 5,000 Bayer 04 fans waved their black and red flags in the stands at the FC Köln stadium and got behind their team for ninety minutes.
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