The People's World Cup

German and FIFA soccer officials announced on Monday the 12 German stadiums that will play host to the 2006 World Cup.

The clear winner? German soccer.

Around 1.75 billion euro in construction and renovation costs are expected to be poured into the 15 stadiums that applied to host the 2006 World Cup games. More than one third of those costs will be picked up by the German taxpayer.

The German soccer clubs that will use the stadiums long after the 2006 Cup will contribute little to nothing at all.

Only soccer teams Bayern Munich and fellow German first league team 1860 Munich will foot the 280 million euro bill for the stadium they will share. Football Club Kaiserslautern will pick up more than a third of the 48.3 million euro it will cost to make their smaller stadium meet World Cup standards.

But the other 10 stadiums picked to host World Cup games Monday will be paid for either by taxpayers or be built on bank credit.

Berlin, which is spending 242 million euro to renovate the Olympic Stadium built by Hitler in 1936, has already been guaranteed the World Cup championship game. Munich, which is building the futuristic 280 million euro Allianz Arena will most likely host the first game.

There were other stadiums among the remaining 10 that were locks long before the soccer association announced its decision Monday. Big cities like Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Leipzig were guaranteed slots. Frankfurt is completely rebuilding its Waldstadion to the tune of 128 million euro. Cologne, Leipzig and Hamburg are planning whole stadiums.

Stuttgart, the home of Daimler-Benz and a contender to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, is modernizing its Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium so that it can also host track and field events.

Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen, home to "Europe's most modern soccer stadium" (photo), were also locks. Both will most likely host quarterfinal and half-final games.

Losers get consolation prizes

Kaiserslautern, Nuremberg and Hanover, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's home city, round out the remaining stadiums. The cities of Duesseldorf, Bremen and Moenchengladbach lost out in the voting.

"We're very sorry," that we had to exclude the three, said Franz Beckenbauer, who was responsible for bringing the 2006 World Cup to Germany. He promised "consolation prizes," such as international run-up games to the Cup.

The biggest loser of all could be Duesseldorf. The city on the Rhein plans to build a 224 million euro sports complex, including a 180 million euro stadium. Taxpayers in the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia will pick up more than half of those costs.

Who will use the stadium is another question. The city's best soccer team is not even in first or second leagues. And officials say it will cost additional millions to rebuild the stadium if Duesseldorf wins its bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.