After it was decommissioned in 1988, the future of the Gasometer was uncertain, and like many industrial relics it initially faced demolition. The citizens of Oberhausen, the city council, the state government and the International Building Exhibition (IBA) Emscher Park debated intensively what use could be found for the retired gas holder. At the suggestion of the IBA Emscher Park, the Gasometer was ultimately converted into the extraordinary exhibition hall that today is the landmark of the city of Oberhausen. The conversion was carried out in 1993/94 by Deutsche Babcock AG. The former gas-pressure disc was fixed at a height of 4.20 metres. Below it visitors now find a circular space of more than 3,000 square metres. Two steel staircases lead up to the gas-pressure disc, and a raised stage with a diameter of 20 metres was installed in the middle. Parts of the supporting structure were converted into a grandstand with 500 seats. In total, the Gasometer therefore offers more than 7,000 square metres of space usable for events. Inside, a glass panoramic lift takes visitors up to just under the roof of the Gasometer. A second lift leads to the roof from the outside, which can also be reached on foot via 592 steps. From up there you get a unique panoramic view over the entire western Ruhr area that, in clear weather, extends up to 35 kilometres — from the steelworks on the Rhine to the Arena auf Schalke. Far more than five million visitors have so far taken in the panorama from the "Roof of the Revier" and the changing exhibitions. The Gasometer Oberhausen thus also stands as a symbol of the lively transformation of the region.