Bielefeld is not the most lively city of Germany and neither is Arminia Bielefeld the most spectacular club. Still you can have an excellent Saturday here, if you - just like us - believe in the holy trinity of beer, bratwurst and Bundesliga football.
The German language has a wide range of beautiful words for special football phenomenons. 'Fahrstuhlmannschaft' for example, loosely translated an 'elevator team'. It means teams that are constantly going up and down by promotions and relegations, just like Arminia Bielefeld. Eight times the Ost-Westfalen side promoted to the Bundesliga, seven times they less lucky and did they go down to the 2. Bundesliga. In 2020 Arminia promoted for the last time, whereafter they saved themselves from an eight relegation at the last moment. And so there's still Bundesliga football to see in Bielefeld, not bad if you keep in mind that they even played on the third level in 2015.
The name SchücoArena sounds a lot more modern than the stadium actually is. Already in 1926 Arminia played here at the Bielefelder Alm, as the stadium is originally called. At an arena you mostly think of a modern construction with a monotone architecture, in Bielefeld none of that.
The main stand of Arminia Bielefeld is almost in the backyard of the residents at the Melanchtonstraße. The stadium with 27.000 places is seen from above a giant letter C, with three stands connected with each other and the main stand standing more apart from the rest. The three connected stands has places in one piece up to the roof, like you often see in older German stadiums. Remarkable are the offices in the southeast corner of the stadium which offer a view of the pitch, just like the stadium of Belgian top side Anderlecht has.
In the Westtribune van de SchücoArena is next to the entrance of Block G and H the museum of Arminia Bielefeld located, the MAFA. A small, but lovely exhibition of the history of the club, with several original pieces that relate to the club and the stadium how they used to be.
In the heart of Bielefeld lays the Kesselbrink, the biggest square of the city. Not particularly a cozy square this giant car park, but for Arminia Bielefeld it's a place with history. Here at the Kesselbrink they placed their first match ever back in 1905, against a team from nearby Osnabrück.
In the east of the city lays Stadion Rußheide, at the Mühlenstraße. This athletics stadium was used by Arminia Bielefeld in the beginning of the eighties, when their own Bielefelder Alm was thoroughly renovated.
Big fun at Arminia Bielefeld is that the prices of tickets are relatively low. For just 20 euros you can visit a league game at the SchücoArena, and the tickets are easy to buy at the official website of the club.
Take at the A33 motorway exit Bielefeld-Zentrum, after 6 km the SchücoArena appears on the signs, whereafter you'll be at the stadium in a couple of minuten.
Train station Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof has good connections with the Ruhr and with Hannover, Berlin and East-Germany. From the station, tram 4 brings you to stop Rudolf-Oetker Halle within minutes, close to the stadium. From the back exit of the station you can also walk to the stadium in 15 minutes.
Images: Shutterstock, BSR Agency, SANTOS
