VfL Wolfsburg - Volkswagen Arena - Capacity: 30,000 All Seater
The Stadium – Volkswagen Arena In den Allerweisen 1, Wolfsburg 38446 The Volkswagen Arena opened its doors in December 2002, and became a fitting tribute to the role that the car manufacturer has played in the development of the football club. Despite the 2-1 defeat in their first match against Stuttgart, the team have settled well into the new stadium. During the first two seasons the stadium was opened, the club averaged over 24,000 fans, considerably better than the level of crowds the club got at the old ground. The old Elsterweg stadium, located a short walk away in Berliner Ring, held around 17,500 spectators in a largely open air stadium, and hasn’t big enough to continue to host a team of such importance as Wolfsburg.
Through the continued generosity of the car manufacturer, club the club were at last able to move to a stadium that was fit for top flight football. It offers unobstructed views from all of the seats and allows the crowds to get very close to the action, similar in appearance to the Rhein Energie Stadium in Köln. Tours are carried out of the new stadium every Friday at 3pm.
Who Plays There? Wolfsburg only came into existence in September 1945 when they were formed to take part in one of the local leagues. Their first match of note was played in November 1946 when they were allowed to play Schalke in a friendly on the sports ground of Volkswagen. After the two local teams of VfL and 1.FC Wolfsburg merged after the war the club gained promotion to the Oberliga North in 1954 and began to compete, without success in the annual German Championship matches.
When the Bundesliga was formed in 1963 the directors of Wolfsburg set a goal that there club would be playing in the top division within 10 years. The club yo-yoed between the regional leagues and the 2nd division for most of the next twenty years. The highpoint of this time was in 1995 when the club got to its one and only major final in their history when they reached the German Cup Final in 1995.
Unfortunately the team went down 3-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. At the end of the 1997/98 season the team finished runners up in the 2nd Bundesliga and achieved promotion to the top level for the first time in their history. The team took time to settle in the higher level, and a poor set of results left the club managerless in March until they decided to appoint the aptly named Wolfgang Wolf! A fine run of form at the end of the season saw them finish 14th and avoid the drop back down to division 2.
At the end of the 1998/99 season the club finished 6th and qualified for Europe for the first time. They did themselves proud in the UEFA Cup with two victories in the opening rounds before they lost 5-3 on aggregate to Athletico Madrid. Successive top 7 finishes in 2000 and 2001 saw the club take up a place in the Intertoto Cup, both times reaching the semi-finals. In 2003 they went one better and reached the final of the competition before they were beaten by Perugia 3-0 on aggregate. The club has also accepted invitations to play in the Intertoto Cup in 2004 and 2005, but again as in the early part of the decade, could not progress past the Semi-Final stage. Last season not even the appointment of German legend defender Klaus Augenthaler half way through the season saved from a relegation near miss, with only a draw against Kaiserslautern in the final game of the season saving their bacon.
How to get a ticket for the Volkswagen Arena Last season only the match versus Kaiserslautern sold out, and the average crowd at the Arena was just over 22,000. This means that tickets for almost all games are available on the day and at the ticket office in In den Allerweisen. However, should you wish to purchase tickets in advance then you can either call the box office on +49 1805 331188 or click on http://www.onlineticket-vfl-wolfsburg.de/catalog. Tickets start from €9 for a place behind the goal with the hardcore fans, to €35 for a seat in the upper tier on the halfway line. However, with such low crowds for the majority of games, it may be a good bet to chose a cheap €18 ticket and move to a better seat once the game commences.
How to get to the Volkswagen Arena The stadium is located in the Allerpark area of the city to the east of the city centre. It is situated next to the River Hafen. The stadium has a number of Park & Ride schemes close to the A2 and A39 Autobahns, which are clearly signposted. Transfer time to the stadium is around 10 minutes. The town centre is a 15 minute walk past the old stadium along the banks of the river.
For a more detailed view on who plays where in Germany, go to Footiemap.com.
From Hannover airport catch the S-Bahn line 5 train from outside the main terminal to Hannover Hauptbahnhof. Trains run every 30 minutes and the journey takes 12 minutes. From there take one of the 2 trains per hour for Wolfsburg from Platform 13. The Regional express trains take around an hour, and the more expensive ICE trains take just 32 minutes but are more expensive. Currently Air Berlin, British Airways, British Midland and Hapag Lloyd Express fly to Hannover on a daily basis.
At Berlin Schönefeld airport, take on of the regular S-Bahn or local trains from the station opposite the terminal to Berlin Ostbahnhof station – journey time 15 minutes. Then cross onto platform 6 for a Wolfsburg train. This should take around 70 minutes. If you are flying into Berlin Tegel, then take one of the express TXL buses to Berlin Zoo station and then catch the direct train to Wolfsburg – the journey should take just under an hour. Currently Easyjet, Ryanair, British Airways and Air Berlin fly daily to Berlin from the UK.
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The Stadium – Volkswagen Arena