Borussia-Park (Mönchengladbach)

Borussia-Park is a football stadium in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which serves as the home stadium of Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach.

General information

Official website: www.borussia.de

Arena capacity: 54,057 spectators

Address: Hennes Weisweiler Allee 1, 41179 Mönchengladbach

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 51.1746° N, 6.3855° E

Year of construction: 2004

Construction cost: €85 million

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 105 × 68 m

Seating plan of Borussia-Park

Though Borussia-Park is built in the typical ‘European Style’ of having a bowl of continuous seating, is it still split into four distinct areas for the purposes of easy identification. These stands are named after their geographical location, with the Osttribüne to the East etc. Here’s some information on each.

1. Osttribüne – Named after the area of the city where the ground is located, The Gorgie Stand was completed in 1997 and houses one of the club’s main hospitality ares, The Gorgie Suite.
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2. Westtribüne – Unsurprisingly, this is the main stand in the stadium. It houses the changing rooms, the dugouts, the Director’s Box and the players’ tunnel.
3. Südtribüne – This is where the most vocal Hearts fans tend to sit. It is built at an angle just shy of 34 degrees – the maximum angle permitted for a stand in a football ground.
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4. Nordkurve – Also known as the School End, this stand houses the away supporters and lost 280 seats from its capacity in 2005 when the pitch was lengthened in order to meet UEFA requirements.

Where to buy tickets?

Compared to the Premier League, tickets for Bundesliga games are generally very reasonable and that’s no different when it comes to Borussia Mönchengladbach matches. In part, that’s because there are so many places within German grounds to watch games from, including standing areas.

The best and easiest way to get tickets for Mönchengladbach games is via the club’s own online portal, though you might be best served by knowing a basic bit of German if you choose to go down that route. If you do not then you can call the club directly and hope that you get an English speaking operator.

How to get there?

Mönchengladbach is in the North Rhine-Westphalia area of Germany, so it’s not as easy to get to as the likes of Berlin or Munich but it’s still easier to reach than Siberia, so count your blessings. Here are some of the usual routes you’ll want to consider.

On Matchdays

By car:

Address for satellite navigation: Am Nordpark 400, 41179 Mönchengladbach.

Coming from the Mönchengladbach motorway junction, take the A61 towards Koblenz until the Nordpark exit. Visitors coming from the opposite direction should also leave the motorway at the Nordpark exit. Continue on the B230 parkway in the direction of Nordpark – the way to BORUSSIA-PARK is signposted. The road to Nordpark is the most direct route to car parks P4 to P7 in the immediate vicinity of the stadium.

• BORUSSIA-PARK has almost 10,000 parking spaces available.
• Day parking tickets cost €6 per vehicle and €10 per vehicle in the Messe car park.
• Information and prices regarding permanent and daily parking spaces are available at PPG-Nordpark GmbH.
• On matchdays, the side streets along Aachener Straße and Gladbacher Straße are closed to non-residents. The Gladbacher Straße-Dorthausen junction is closed to all traffic from two hours before the start of the game.
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• Please drop off and pick up spectators at Rheydt train station at home fixtures. From there, visitors can use the shuttle bus to access the stadium. There are no available areas for dropping off and picking up spectators in the vicinity of the stadium.

By coach:

A separate car park (P4 B) is used for coaches and is only reachable via the MG-Holt exit of the A61 and Aachener Straße/ Gladbacher Straße (B 57).

By public transport:

• Valid tickets for the Foals’ home match entitle the holder to use public transport in the VRR and AVV areas.
• Tickets that are printed out at home using the Print@Home method entitle the holder to free travel in the VRR area.
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• On home matchdays, the new shuttle buses will depart from Rheydt Central Station / Mittelstraße from three hours at five-minute intervals before kick-off to BORUSSIA-PARK. It is also possible to get to BORUSSIA-PARK from Künkelstraße every 20 minutes from two hours before kick-off.
• The new 017 line buses also depart from Mönchengladbach city centre (Europaplatz / Hauptbahnhof stop). From the Platz der Republik (behind the main station), shuttle buses to the stadium (travel time approx. 15 minutes) leave every five minutes from three hours before kick-off and until two hours after the end of the game.
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• It is also possible to reach the stadium from Wegberg bus station. The return trips go directly to Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof and Rheydt station and end two hours after the end of the game.

By bike:

There are 1,000 bicycle parking spaces directly outside the stadium. These are located in the middle of the east stand and at car park P4, close to the stadium.

By taxi:

There is a taxi rank in the immediate vicinity of BORUSSIA-PARK. Cabs reach the stadium via the Aachener Straße / Am Nordpark.

On Non-Matchdays

By car:

Address for satellite navigation: Am Borussiapark, 41179 Mönchengladbach.

On non-matchdays, car parks P1 to P12 in the vicinity of the stadium are available to visitors. For the most direct route, take the Holt junction off the A61, continue to Aachener Straße / Gladbacher Straße and then turn right into Am Borussiapark Street to car park P1.

By public transport:

The new shuttle buses only run to BORUSSIA-PARK on home matchdays.

The bus line 017 runs to BORUSSIA-PARK on non-matchdays. The bus line 017 departs every 20 minutes from Am Borussiapark and Nordpark Busbahnhof bus stops. Both stations are within walking distance of the stadium. Detailed information about the bus schedule can be found here.

Where to eat and sleep?

Mönchengladbach is one of Germany’s less visited cities but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have plenty to offer. Here are some of our favourite hotels in the area.

1. Leonardo Hotel Monchengladbach. The Leonardo Hotel is close to the Abteiberg museum in the heart of Mönchengladbach. It has a restaurant, a bar, a fitness centre, a business centre and a terraced area. There’s also free Wi-Fi and self-parking available. It’s about two miles from the stadium.
2. Best Western Plus Crown Hotel. The beauty of chain hotels is that you know exactly what you’re getting, so there’ll be no surprises from the Best Western. It’s about a thirty-five minute walk from the ground and has a restaurant, a bar, three meeting rooms and a conference space. There’s also free Wi-Fi and free parking.
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3. Dorint Parkhotel Mönchengladbach. The Dorint Parkhotel is over two and a half miles from Borussia-Park, but it’s worth the extra travel time. As well as a restaurant and bar, the hotel also has a health club with a full-service spa and an indoor pool. There’s a terrace, a 24-hour business centre and free Wi-Fi, too.

Germany is, in general, a great country to go for a drink or two in. Mönchengladbach has that in common with the rest of the cities around the place, so here are some of our favourite places to go for a pre-match pint.

1. The Pógs – Irish Pub. The Irish know how to do a decent pub anywhere in the world, so The Pogs should tickle your fancy if you like a Guinness and a bit of craic. Expect karaoke nights, live music and a good laugh at a place that invites you to come as a guest but leave as a friend.
2. You won’t get much of a better location for a sports bar than in the stadium itself. The bar shows all of Mönchengladbach’s away games live, serves food and has a cracking drinks menu, too.
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3. Sports Treff Salonika. Salonika is another bar that shows live sport. It’s a typical ‘German’ looking pub, with beer barrel tables and a great outdoor area should you fancy a smoke or just to soak up the local atmosphere. Very much recommended.

Facilities

As one of the newer stadiums in the Bundesliga it’s fair to say that Borussia-Park boasts some of the better facilities in Germany. You’ll find lots of places to buy a drink or a bite to eat as well as decent views from most seats. The seats are also very comfortable, with plenty of room.

The hospitality area of Borussia-Park is referred to as the ‘Business Area’, so that might give you some indication of what you’re likely to experience there. Here’s a little bit of information about the sort of experience that you can expect:

1. Lodges – Private lodges are similar to what we would call boxes in the UK, except they’re basically maxed out versions of these. Let’s be honest, they can take anywhere from 12 to 56 people so that’s pretty impressive by anyone’s standard
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2. Business Seats – A business seat ticket will give you access to the top quality business section of the ground in The West Stand. You’ll also get to enter the Business Lounge two and a half hours before kick-off and for two hours after the match has finished. You’ll get access to warm and cold buffet food as well as a selection of complimentary drinks. Highlights of the Gladbach match are shown on televisions throughout the lounge, as are any other live football matches. You’ll get the chance to see an interview take place with a Borussia first-team player after the game, too.

The ‘lodges’ are the perfect location for any type of small meeting or conference, with different areas of the stadium also available for your private use should this be something you want to do.

History

The stadium was built to replace the significantly smaller and less impressive Bökelbergstadion, or Bökelberg Stadium, which could only house 34,500 people. The diminutive size of the club’s old ground was limiting their ability to make money through ticket sales and the like, meaning that they struggled financially and fell further and further behind the Bundesliga’s major stadiums such as the Westfalenstadion and the Bayern Arena.

It took four years to build the new stadium at a cost of a little under €87 million. It was opened officially on the 30th of July 2004 but didn’t host its first match until two weeks later when Mönchengladbach welcomed their rivals Borussia Dortmund. The home side lost 3-2.