GRAZ - STURM PUNTIGAMER GRAZ / GRAZ AK - UPC ARENA: 15,400 ALL SEATER
About The UPC Arena The UPC Arena is the new name for the more famous Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadion – named of course after the city’s most famous son. However, the “Terminator”/Graz love-in ended in December 2005 after a huge row broke out when Arnie in his role as Governor of California refused to stop the execution of a prisoner on death row. The town council of Graz were furious and during the following days, Schwarzenegger revoked the right of the town to use his name.
The modern stadium was built in 1995, and opened with a local derby in 1997, and replaced the homely Gruabn stadium that had been home to the teams since 1909. The new stadium was certainly a home from home. An all seater arena, fully covered and with roof heaters to stop fans getting too chilly in the winter. It is function to say the least, and views are good from all seats. The stadium has hosted Champions League football on a number of occasions, and in these instances, temporary seating has raised the capacity above 16,000.
Who plays there? The stadium is home to the town’s two professional clubs – SK Sturm Graz and Grazer AK. Recent history has not been kind on either – both have spent periods in administration, and if it wasn’t for a controversial sponsorship deal in 2005, Sturm would cease to exist at all.
SK Sturm Graz were originally formed in 1909 as a working men team, but it wasn’t for 75 years that they made their mark on Austrian football when they finished runners up in the 1983 championship. In the following season they entered the UEFA Cup for the first team. In an impressive run, they reached the quarter finals, before they lost harshly on penalties to Nottingham Forest. It took another 10 years of struggle in setting up one of the best academies in Austria before the club were again ready to hit the big time. Under the leadership if Ivica Osim they finished runners up in 1995 and 1996, although in the latter they did win the Austrian Cup by beating Admira Modling.
In 1998 they won their first Bundesliga title, gaining a record number of points and wins during that historic season. In 1999 they retained their title, as well as winning the Cup and SuperCup for an unprecedented domestic treble. They also made their debut in the Champions League, after coming through a qualification round against the Hungarian’s Upjest. They never looked like making an impression in a tough group featuring Inter Milan and Real Madrid (losing 6-1 and 5-1 to Madrid), and a single scoreless draw away to Spartak Moscow was their only success. However, three sell out matches at the stadium showed the new found interest in the team. In the 1999-2000 season they came from behind to beat Servette to move into the group stages again. They faired slightly better than 12 months previously, beating Dinamo Zagreb and Marseille at home, although a final 3rd place finish was enough to take them into the UEFA Cup.
A hatrick of titles was halted by FC Tirol, but in 2000-01 they had their best ever European campaign. They started the competition well, beating a strong Feyenoord 3-2 on aggregate to go into a group with Monaco, Glasgow Rangers and Galatasaray. The home wins papered over some awful performances away from home as they lost 5-0 to both Monaco and Rangers, but it was enough to see them finish top and progress to the 2nd group stage for the first (and only) time in their history. There, they met Manchester United again, Valencia and Panathinaikos. Six points from their two games with the Greeks saw them finish in 3rd spot, although their defensive frailties were exposed again with another 5-0 defeat, this time at home to Valencia.
The following season things started to unwind for the club. A second place finish in the league, and going out in the early stages of the Champions League. Some of the good young players were allowed to leave the club, and their replacements could not deliver the kind of form that was required to compete with the likes of FC Wacker, Rapid Vienna and the new cash cows of Red Bull Salzburg.
In 2006 the club were forced to file for bankruptcy, and if it wasn’t for a series of strange decisions by the Austrian Football Federation, who would normally have automatically relegated the club, Graz were allowed to retain their Bundesliga place and signed a naming rights deal that saw their name change to SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz. To add salt into the wounds of those teams (including their neighbours) who weren’t so fortunately dealt with, Graz stormed into the lead of the Bundesliga at the halfway point in the 2007/08 season.
Unfortunately, the more recent story of Grazer AK is not a happy one. Just two seasons ago the club finished runners up in the Bundesliga, and seemed to have avoided the financial problems that had set in at Sturm. They won the Austrian Cup in 2000, 2002 and the following season finished runners up in the Bundesliga – and thus earnt a place in the Champions League for the first time. The club gained a place in history in the 2003/04 qualifying rounds as they lost to Ajax on the silver goal rule – the last game in European competition to be decided by this method. The following season was the club’s high point, winning the Bundesliga title, the Austrian Cup and finishing runners up in the Super Cup.
Whilst they lost in the final qualifying rounds of the Champions League, a 1-0 win at Anfield against Liverpool will go down as their most famous victory ever. The following season they were runners up again, and thus entered the Champions League for the third year in a row.
Less than 18 months after exiting the Champions League the club found themselves in the courts, fighting for their survival. In an amazing twist, the Austrian FA decreed that the club should be docked a massive 28 points, which effectively saw them relegated at Christmas – a completely different story to that which befell Sturm less than a year earlier.
How to get there The stadium is located in the south of the town, alongside the river and the main railway line, and less than 200 yards from the end of the A2 Autobahn. The easiest way to reach the stadium is by catching the Trolley bus 4 (called Strassenbahns) from Jakominiplatz. Journey time is around 10 minutes.
For more details of the surrounding area go to Footiemap.com's Austrian map.
Getting a ticket Average attendances very greatly depending on who is playing at the UPC. Sturm still get average crowds of over 11,500 and it is advisable to book a ticket in advance for the games against the likes of Red Bull Salzburg and Rapid Vienna. Tickets can be purchased over the phone on +43 316 771 7710 or from the Strum website at http://www.sksturm.at. Tickets range in price from €20 in the seats behind the goal to €34 in the Tribunes.
For games featuring AK, tickets start from €10 and are sold at the stadium prior to the game. With an average attendance of less than 3,000 at the moment prior booking is not required.
Getting Around The Old Town is walkable, but there’s a good public transport system of buses and trams operating between 05.00 and 00.00 (midnight). Single tickets, valid for one hour, cost €1.70 and can be used on buses, trams and the Schlossbergbahn. A 24-hour ticket costs €3.70, 10-rides ticket €14.80. Graz also has a network of cycle paths, the most popular being the Murradweg along the river. Bike hire is available from Kaiser Franz Joseph Kai 56. Open Monday to Friday 07.00-20.00, Saturday 08.00-20.00, Sunday 13.00-20.00.
Graz’s small airport is located around 12 miles south of the town centre and is only served from the UK by Ryanair from London Stansted. The airline is currently planning to expand its operations significantly once the new terminal is opened in 2008, and passenger numbers reach the million mark.
The airport has a railway station within walking distance – exit the terminal and turn right which has regular service3s to Graz main station in around 12 minutes. Buses also run regularly to the train station between 8am and 11pm, taking 30 minutes and costing €1.70. A taxi should cost no more than €20.
About The UPC Arena