FC Schalke 04 visitor guide | Veltins Arena guide
The Veltins-Arena is a football stadium in the German city of Gelsenkirchen and is the home ground for Schalke 04 Football Club.
Since opening in 2001, it has hosted a Champions League final as well as five matches in the 2006 World Cup.
Boasting a capacity of 61,482, the Veltins-Arena also features a Teflon-coated retractable roof, which can be opened into two halves, depending on weather. Additionally, the stadium has a removeable playing surface, which has enabled it to also host Speedway events and ice hockey matches.
In terms of catering facilities, the numbers alone are eye-boggling. With 15 small restaurants, 50 grilling stations and 35 cafés, the stadium can serve up to 2,500 kg of sausages, 7,000 pretzels, and 1,000 m2 of pizza in one day.
There is also a 5 km long beer-line that pumps out 52,000 litres of beer per matchday.
The stadium sits around 5 kilometres to the north of the town centre, close to the Autobahn A2 which runs from Dortmund to Oberhausen.
The easiest way to reach the stadium via public transport is by taking the 302 Tram which runs from the Gelsenkirchen railway station to the Veltins-Arena stop.
Extra trams are put on for matches and other major events held in the Arena, and holders of a match or event ticket are entitled to use all public transport services in the region free of charge.
Free parking is available around the stadium in areas marked with a "P".
The closest international airport to Gelsenkirchen is Dusseldorf International, which is 46km from the Veltins-Arena. If you’re using Dusseldorf airport, you may want to consider a hotel neaby. An excellent choice would be the Berial Hotel, which is a taxi ride from the airport, and also a short walk from the main railway station from where you can catch the train to Gelsenkirchen. This hotel has a 100% recommendation rate on tripadvisor.com.
