About the St Jakob Stadium When it was announced that the joint bid from Austria and Switzerland had been successful in hosting Euro 2008, the city council in Basel wasted no time in drawing up plans to provide a stadium that could form a legacy in terms of future European matches. With less than a year to go to the tournament, you can see that the effort (and money) has paid off.
Similar in nature to the stadiums at Berne and Geneva, the outer shell of the stadium is hidden on one side by a shopping centre, but inside the stadium is very much as you would expect from the Swiss – compact, neat and efficient. It is very British in design – four stands close to the pitch and excellent sight lines. Behind each goal there are identical two tier stands, with a screen perched on the roof. The south stand’s upper tier is smaller as there is a double layer of executive boxes here. The North stand is a three tier affair, with the roof sloping up in the corners.
The concourses are the only issue – they are quite cramped and during halftime it can be a bit of a struggle to move from one side of the stand to another.
Who plays there? FC Basel - http://www.fcb.ch Fussballclub Basel are currently the biggest and best supported club in Swiss football. In terms of honours, they have won 11 National league titles – more than any other cup, and 7 cup wins. They have also had more success in Europe than other teams from Switzerland, most recently under Christian Gross in 2002 when they beat Celtic, Liverpool, Deportivo La Coruna and Juventus on their way to the knock out stages of the tournament.
These victories all came at home, and re-inforced the fact that the club have become almost unbeatable at home. On the 13th May 2006 the team lost a league match for the first time in over 3 ½ years - an amazing run of 59 games. Unfortunately, this game was decided by a last minute winner by FC Zurich which handed the team the title, from the grasp of FC Basel.
The club had modest success in their early years – winning the title in 1953 for the first time. Their most successful period came in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s when the team won five titles in seven seasons, as well as two Swiss Cups. They returned to success in the early 2000’s when Christian Gross joined the club after his unsuccessful spell at Tottenham Hotspurs. He delivered the domestic double in 2002, and followed this up with league victories in 2004 and 2005. Unfortunately this season, despite starting again as favourites, they allowed FC Zurich again to break away at the top of the league and 2nd place is their only reward for a season’s hard toil.
In 2008/09 it was more of the same as the team finished in third place behind Young Boys and FC Zurich. The club this time lost patience in coach Christian Gross and he was sacked in June 2009.
How to get there The stadium is located in the east of the city, hemmed in by the train line to Zurich, and the motorway. It is almost the demarcation point between the centre and the suburbs. The stadium is walkable – certainly from the area close to the main station it is no more than 30 minutes away. On a matchday special football shuttle trains run from the central station to a stop behind the north stand every 15 minutes. Alternatively you can catch tram number 14 that runs through the centre of the old town – from Markplatz the stadium stop St Jakob is 8 stops or around 11 minutes away – tickets cost CHF3 each way.
If you are drivng from out of town then it may be easier to head to the areas to the east of the stadium close to the tram line and then use this excellent method of transport in.
For an overview of where the stadium is, and who else plays in the city then go to Footiemap.com to see the overview map of football in Basel.
Getting a ticket Domestic football in Switzerland is not necessarily the most passionate affair. Attendances tend to be quite low, and the big four of Young Boys, FC Basel and the two Zurich clubs fail to attract on average more than 50% stadium utilisation, meaning that tickets are always available on the day.
FC Basel are the best supported team at the current time in Switzerland, and have an average attendance north of 20,000. However, with a stadium that can hold over 30,000 sell outs are exceptionally rare. Tickets can be purchased from the kiosks around the stadium on a matchday, or if your German is good via the official website. If you are buying from the UK then you will need to pick the ticket up on the day of the game from the Fanshop on the west side of the stadium. Ticket prices range from CHF to CHF. The “hardcore” fans are located in the east lower tier. A good seat for the neutral is in the north stand upper tiers.
Getting around Trams are definitely still the king in Basel. They run at regular intervals throughout the day and link most parts of the city you will need to go to. Buses supplement the tram routes. Trams 8, 10 and 11 run from the station down to the Old Town. A one day ticket for all transport options is CHF8 – simply press the “T” button on the ticket machines.
Now this is a strange concept. An airport that can lay claim to being in two different countries. Basel (Swiss) Mulhouse (French) Airport has been designed to allow customs and immigration into both countries – once you find yourself in the baggage reclaim hall you will see clear signs either directing to towards French (and German) customs, or Swiss customs. If you are heading for Basel city centre then follow the Swiss signs. The number 50 bus leaves from directly in front of the terminal building every 30 minutes and the CHF3.60 tickets can be bought from the machines at the bus stop. The bus runs to the main station in around 20 minutes.
Currently the main budget airline serving the airport is Easyjet with daily flights from London Luton and Stansted. British Airways fly here from London Heathrow on a daily basis, and Swiss Airlines from London City.
About the St Jakob Stadium When it was announced that the joint bid from Austria and Switzerland had been successful in hosting Euro 2008, the city council in Basel wasted no time in drawing up plans to provide a stadium that could form a legacy in terms of future European matches. With less than a year to go to the tournament, you can see that the effort (and money) has paid off.
Who plays there? FC Basel - 