MSV DUISBURG
OCTOBER 2023
Founded: Sep 17, 1902
Club Members: 8,625
Nickname: Die Zebras
Coach: Boris Schommers
Captain: Sebastian Mai
3.Liga Champions: 1
German Amateur Champions: 1
Landespokal Niederrhein Winner: 3
Website: www.msv-duisburg.de
Formed in 1902 as Meidericher SV (Meidericher Spielverein), the club initially represented the Duisburg suburb of Meiderich before later becoming MSV Duisburg in 1967. While they've always been a competitive side, on-field success has largely eluded them with only a few local championships and a couple of 'Invincible' unbeaten seasons in the inter-war years to their name.
After coming close to folding during World War 2, Duisburg emerged from the chaos to become one of the top sides in the area, earning promotion to the top-flight Oberliga West in1951 and staying there right up to the formation of the new Bundesliga in 1963. Invited to become one of the band of brothers that formed the new league, Duisburg's first season was by far their most successful with a runners-up finish secured behind inaugural champions 1.FC Köln. Nearly 20 seasons as a Bundesliga club followed along with three, albeit losing, DFB-Pokal final appearances before relegation saw them slip into Bundesliga.2 in 1983. Duisburg then joined the ranks of Germany's 'elevator clubs' - bouncing between divisions although they did manage another eight seasons in the Bundesliga.
As a Bundesliga.2 club, they surprisingly reached their fourth DFB-Pokal final in 2011, but local heavyweights Schalke 04 made light work of the underdogs and cruised to a 5-0 win. After relegation to the 3.Liga in 2013, Duisburg really embraced their yo-yo club reputation and were either promoted or relegated four times in the next six seasons.
Video used with the kind permission of Stadiums From The Sky
- Drone Footage of Stadiums All Over The World
GROUND DETAILS
Ground Name: Schauinsland Reisen Arena
Year Opened: 2004
Capacity: 31,500 (7,039 standing)
Executive Boxes: 40
Executive Seats: 420
Wheelchair Spaces: 46
Construction Costs: €45.6m
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Running Track: No
LED Video Screens: 41m² x 2
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Pitch Size: 105m x 68m
Grounds:
Wedaustadion (1921 - 2004)
MSV Arena (2004 - 2011)
Schauinsland Reisen Arena (2011 - ) *
* Stadium Renamed
Costing €43 million and originally called the MSV Arena, The Schauinsland Reisen Arena is built on the site of Duisburg's old Wedaustadion and it opened in 2004 although the main stand wasn't completed until early 2005.
Today it stands as a smart, modern arena with a cantilever roof and two tiers running all the way around the ground. It's an all-seater except for terraced areas in the lower tiers of both the North and South Stands. The South Stand is notable for the Swiss flag displayed in coloured seating as a nod of recognition to one of Duisburg's Swiss-based fan clubs. The Main Stand is an all-seater affair with the obligatory band of executive boxes running across the middle, and the opposite stand follows a similar design but also has 'MSV Duisburg' spelt out in white seats against the banks of otherwise blue seating.
Duisburg's home end is the 8,500 capacity König Pilsener Fankurve and the away support are given an area of terracing in the southeast corner of the ground.
BUYING TICKETS
Ticket Office:
Website: www.eventimsports.de/ols/msv/
Telephone: +49 (0) 180 6190203
Email: Contact Form via Website
Average Attendance:
2022-2023: 11,897 (3.Liga)
2021-2022: 6,932 (3.Liga) *
2020-2021: N/A *
2019-2020: 9,425 (3.Liga) *
2018-2019: 15,366 (Bundesliga.2)
* Season affected by COVID pandemic
Expected Ticket Availability
Not only do Duisburg have Dortmund and Schalke to compete with, but their location further west in the Ruhr means Mönchengladbach and Düsseldorf are also on the doorstep. Add to this the fact that Duisburg are playing in the 3.Liga and have a 30,000 capacity ground to fill, it's no surprise that the 'sold-out' signs never appear outside the Schauinsland Reisen Arena. Even when they were in Bundesliga.2 in 2018-19, the ground was barely half-full with the upper tiers closed on some occasions.
With the ground therefore unlikely to be filled to the rafters, tickets will be available through the online shop (no English Language option we're afraid) or over the phone if you want to practice your German.
You can pick up tickets at the box office outside the stadium. There are also a number of other Verkaufstellen (sales outlets) in the area including three in the city centre and Duisburg provide a list of them here.
For adult tickets, as a general guide, expect to pay €25-39 for a seat in the stands, or it's €16 if you prefer to stand on the terraces.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Stadium Address:
Margaretenstraße 5-7
47055 Duisburg
BY CAR:
If you're coming by car, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that the car parks at the stadium are only accessible if you have a permit on matchday. However, the good news is that you should, providing you're early enough, be able to find somewhere to park up on Kalkweg - the main road which runs in front of the stadium. To get there in the first place, the stadium is just off the A59 autobahn so if you're travelling along this route come off at exit 13 (Wanheimerot/Wedau) and turn east under the railway following the signs Sportpark Wedau. If you're coming along the A3, take exit 15 (Duisburg-Wedau) and then again pick up the signs for Sportpark Wedau.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
Match ticket holders can travel to and from the stadium throughout the day until 3am the following morning in the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) region. The Schauinsland Reisen Arena is well connected by public transport and from Duisburg Hauptbahnhof you can get there using S-Bahn, U-Bahn or Bus:
S-Bahn: S1 (Direction: Düsseldorf) to DU-Schlenk and the ground is about 10 minutes on foot from here.
U-Bahn: U79 (Direction Düsseldorf) to the Grünewald stop and again it's a 10 minute walk to the ground.
Bus 934 (Direction: Großbaum/Wedau Wolfssee) to the stop MSV-Arena
Bus 939 (Direction: Klinikum Duisburg) to the MSV-Arena stop
Bus 944 (Direction: Wedau Wolfssee) to the stop Sportschule Wedau and it's about 7 minutes on foot from here to the stadium.
Bus 945 (Direction: Stadion P2) to the MSV-Arena stop
WALKING DIRECTIONS:
It's about a couple of miles from central Duisburg to the stadium so public transport is the best option.
If you do fancy the walk however, then come out of the Hauptbahnhof using the east exit (not towards the city centre) and go straight ahead to the junction. Turn right onto Neudorfer Straße and follow it over a roundabout onto Neue Fruchtstraße. At the end of this road, turn left into Koloniestraße and after half-a-mile turn right onto Sternbuschweg. Follow Sternbuschweg for about a mile and turn left after you pass under the railway line onto Kalkweg. Head straight on, passing under more railway tracks, and the stadium will soon appear on your left.
FAN SHOP, MUSEUM & STADIUM TOURS
FAN SHOP:
There's a large fan shop called 'ZebraShop' at the stadium (Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena, Margaretenstraße 5-7, 47055 Duisburg; 10am-5pm, Mon-Wed & Fri; 10am-7pm, Thu; 10am-2pm, Sat).
MUSEUM:
Until a permanent home is found for the exhibits, there's a virtual museum dedicated to all things MSV on the club website. Access it here.
FOOD & DRINK OPTIONS
The usual mobile fast food and drink outlets set up in and around the stadium offering the typical German football fayre of beer, chips, bretzel, rostbratwurst etc; and you can pay for everything with cash.
OTHER CLUBS IN THE AREA
BUNDESLIGA: 1.FC Köln, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, VfL Bochum
BUNDESLIGA 2: FC Schalke 04, Fortuna Düsseldorf, SC Paderborn, VfL Osnabrück
3.LIGA: Borussia Dortmund II, DSC Arminia Bielefeld, FC Viktoria Köln, Preußen Münster, Rot Weiss Essen, SC Verl
