OPEL ARENA Sports Fan Tips
OPEL ARENA is a venue in or near Mainz that is most often used for Soccer
What to expect from the OPEL ARENA crowd?
After the exciting days of Jurgen Klopp manning the helm, Mainz realised they needed to move into a new stadium, and in 2011 they did. This almost doubled the previous stadiums capacity and led to thousands more fans attending the matches. They have become a stalwart in the Bundesliga lately and the fans are loving every minute of it. The stadium is close to selling out for many of the home games which always creates a wonderful atmosphere!
Best Bars around OPEL ARENA?
Honestly, because of the location of the stadium in a fairly rural area outside of the city – you are best staying in the centre and having a few drinks before making your way out to the ground.Onkel Willy's Pub is more than just a funny name – it is a classic old fashioned German pub, with plenty of pub games such as pool and darts to keep you entertained. The staff are really welcoming and it's a great place to spend an hour or two.If the weather is nice then Rheinstrand Mainz is one of the best places in the city! Located on the riverfront, there are plenty of chairs and tables for people just to sit, relax and watch the world go bar in a really calming setting!Of course, no town is seemingly complete without a good old fashioned Irish Pub and The Porter House Irish Pub is one of the best in the city. With TV's showing all the pre-match build up, it's a great atmosphere and a good place to grab a drink or two.
Things to check out around OPEL ARENA?
Mainz is a very historical town, and you can spend hours wandering through its streets marvelling at the architecture of its buildings. This marvel will be amplified at Mainzer Dom. The cathedral is a spectacular sight to behold!One of Mainz's prized features is also the Gutenberg Museum – dedicated to educate you about the world of printing, it's a fascinating way to spend a few hours!
Best Insider tip at OPEL ARENA?
Mainz are one of the many teams that operate a cashless system inside the stadium. If you want to buy any drinks or refreshments, you will have to obtain a cashless card from the ticket box or stands around the stadium – before topping it up with at least €10. Although this is a pain, it does reduce queues at the kiosks with no one fumbling around with loose change! You can of course refund the money on the card at several machines around the stadium.
Best Food and Drink at OPEL ARENA?
The Opel Arena being built in 2011 is one of the newest stadiums in Germany and thus has plenty of kiosks on the concourses for food and drinks so the queues are minimal which is always a big plus! The food is your standard German footballing food with plenty of Fries, Hot Dogs, Pretzels and Burgers. You can wash it down with an ice cold beer that you can bring to your seat! The beers are around €4 but you will need to pay a surcharge for the cup – which can be refunded at the end of the game.
How do I get to OPEL ARENA?
The Opel Arena is found about 3km outside of Mainz itself in a fairly rural area – as such, the public transportation options to get here are fairly limited – for example, the tram system doesn't reach out there.Instead the best way of heading there is via the shuttle buses that pick up from and drop off at the central train station! Public buses 68 and 69 will get you close, just make sure you get off at stops Ackermannweg and Fachhochschule respectively.There is car parking at the stadium and match days will cost no more than €3.50 for a spot!
OPEL ARENA seating?
As with a lot of German Stadiums, there are a lot of standing tickets – with nearly 14,000 out of the 34,000 tickets being for standing. The West Stand behind the goal houses the majority of the home supporters and as such, 11,000 fans will stand here for 90 minutes and cheer their team on. Away fans can be found in the South-East corner which lends to a nice give and take between the two sets of supporters.As the stadium was built in 2011, the seats have awesome sight lines, and are rather comfortable!As you can imagine the cheapest tickets are to be found in the standing room terraces where you can watch the game for just €12.50. Otherwise, prices are fairly standard with seats behind the goals costing around €25 and seats near the half way line a tad more expensive at €40.
Best restaurants near OPEL ARENA?
When you are on the road – some decent Mexican food is hard to come by. Luckily Mainz has El Burro! Cooking a whole host of classics such as Nachos, Burritos, Tacos and more – it's a make your own kinda place set up in the vein of a Chipotle.If you have a craving for some seafood, then definitely try UDP. A Portuguese place, it serves up some wonderfully flavourful dishes – it is a favourite haunt of many Portuguese expats which shows that the food must be good!If you have eaten too much meat in Germany (a real possibility) you should head to Schrebergarten. It's a vegetarian place that has some of the freshest food in the city. Perfect for a mini-detox!