Hamburg is a great city filled with football history and on the East side of the city lies The Volksparkstadion, the home ground of Hamburger Sport-Verein, more commonly known as Hamburger SV.
We had the pleasure of attending a home match at this historic stadium, which was actually an experience unlike any other and I’ve been to a fair few stadiums! Here’s our review of The Volksparkstadion and Hamburger SV home match with a summary of what to expect from a match-day atmosphere when immersing yourself in the passion of German football.
Brief history of Hamburger SV
Before getting into the matchday experience, it’s worth knowing some brief but important history of Hamburger Sport Verein (HSV). Founded in 1887, the club is one of the oldest in Germany and boasts plenty of success. HSV has been the champion of Germany 6 times and has won 4 European cups including 1 European cup (now known as the Champions League) so it has great history and a big following as a result.
It is one of the few clubs to have competed in every Bundesliga season since its inception up until a devastating relegation the the 2. Bundesliga in 2018. The fact that the stadium hosted World Cup matches in 2006 and the club has had the highest spectator average of any second-division club in Europe tells a story of its atmosphere.
What is the stadium capacity of the Volksparkstadion?
57,000 seats.
Getting to the Volksparkstadion
The stadium is situated in a very green part of the city in the East in Altona which is slightly more than 7 kilometres from Hamburg’s city centre. It is sat inside the Volkspark so a lot of fans are walking through the park en route to the game, creating the first taste of atmosphere.
Public transport is best, the stadium is best reached by overground metro (S-Bahn) getting off at Stellingen or Eidelstedt with a 15-minute walk added. Use metro line S3 and S21.
On matchday there are shuttle buses that run from Stellingen station to the stadium from 2 hours before kick off. There is another shuttle service from the farther away Othmarschen station, which is on S-Bahn line S11.
How much do match day tickets cost for Hamburger SV?
HSV matches fall into four pricing categories and these cover the range.
Category A+ matches: From €41.00 for an upper-tier seat behind the goal to €95.00 for a lower-tier seat at one of the sides.
Category C matches: From €21.00 and €46.00.
Tickets for the standing areas: €17.00 for all matches.
So prices depend on the opposition and where you sit, the higher up you sit generally the cheaper it gets.
You might find that some matches are surprisingly sold out way in advance, so try to get tickets early. If you can’t, there are often ticket sellers outside the ground near the ticket offices if you are desperate and willing to pay a bit more to get in.
Matchday atmosphere
I’ll start by saying that the atmosphere in the Volksparkstadion among the Hamburger SV fans is probably one of the best I’ve experienced, and I’ve seen a few big games in my time. Considering we were watching a 2nd division German team, it was very loud, passionate, and impressive.
We went to watch Hamburger SV play Hansa Rostock which is something of a local Derby in North Germany. Before kick-off, a pre-match ritual includes the singing of the club’s anthem “Hamburg, meine Perle” (Hamburg, my pearl). The energy is contagious, and even if you’re a neutral fan, you can’t help but get caught up and join in with a merry mumble-along.
The thing that struck me the most is how the fans are chanting and singing almost all through the game, waving flags and scarves. This is helped by some hypemen using loudspeakers in front of the fans. Perhaps I saw something different that day but the equally loud (pound-for-pound) Hansa Rostock fans added a lot to this atmosphere and lit up a bunch of flares which filled the stadium with smoke, to the point that the game was actually paused.
The Volksparkstadion itself is architecturally impressive, with its blue roof that dominates the skyline of Hamburg’s Bahrenfeld district and It’s a big venue that has seen countless historic moments over the years.
Matchday facilities
The Volksparkstadion has the usual matchday facilities that most teams would have, the food is very German of course but the noticeable difference from England would be that you can drink alcohol and smoke in the seats while watching the game. I’d say this added to the passionate atmosphere.
The food and drink options did require some long queuing at busy times and the toilets can be small and cramped in some stands but overall the stadium is modern and well-equipped.
The best bits
- The loud, passionate but merry atmosphere created by the fans
- The modern style stadium with a bowl shape that allows easy access around it
- The green surroundings of the stadium
- The freedom of drinking a beer in your seat
The not-so-good bits
- The toilets are often small, and cramped, and require some queuing
- It’s not in the city, like many stadiums it will require some travel and walking to get to it
- Tickets can often be hard to obtain for neutrals
- If you don’t like smokers you could be unlucky to have a few nearby you all game
Our overall rating: 4.5 out of 5
I’d rate it as an excellent experience to visit the Volksparkstadion for a Hamburger SV match. It’s a great European away day if you want to catch some German football and the atmosphere makes it pretty special. It’s hard to find atmospheres like this around so if you’re in the north of Germany try to get to a game.