"Lager shower in superb arena"

FC Schalke 04 v Sparta Praha (Europa League - group stage) - 22nd October 2015
Entertaining two-two draw in a superb arena, however we were caught in the middle of some minor crowd trouble which the stewards did nothing to control. The ground itself is superb, well worth a walk around to see all the different aspects of a massive roofed arena.

Location

Out of town, but with massive car parks. We found free on-street parking just outside the stadium complex. Take a walk around before the crowds arrive, there is a museum, training complex, club shops, an old arena, clubs buildings, etc. You can see the four tunnel entrances that lead under the ground from the corners and the area at the end where the pitch can be removed under one stand.

View

Excellent views, big screens, etc.

Facilities

Large toilets, large concourses inside the ground itself and outside the ticket barriers. A free A4 programme, that was handed out outside the doors to the ground itself, but not enough for everyone and I got the last one from the distributer by my entrance.

Food & Drink

Good range of typical German food and ticket, as normal in Germany. You need to get a stadium card.

Police & Stewards

We were is a mixed section close to the away fan section. Unfortunately, the Sparta fans were mostly drunk, so lager was thrown forward towards the Schalke fans in front of us. A few punches were thrown and then the Schalke fans threw lager at the Sparta fans. We were showered in lager a few times and I got hit on the head by a Sparta fan trying to hit a female Schalke fan in front of me, he did however apologise! The stewards were there, did nothing and allowed it to carry on. The police staying on the concourse and never came into the seating to intervene. Not pleasant, but actually not as nasty as it might sound

Atmosphere

Both sets of supporters sand and were very loud. As usual in Germany, the home fans had there club song and scarf rituals. No problems outside the ground, before and after the game. As usual in Germany, plenty of fans hang about after the game to eat, drink and chat.

Write your own review of Veltins-Arena

Have you been to Veltins-Arena? Write a review!