SSV JAHN REGENSBURG
AUGUST 2023
Founded: Oct 4, 1907
Club Members: 4,700
Nicknames: Die Jahnelf
Coach: Joe Enochs
Captain: Andreas Geipl
Regionalliga Bavaria: 1
Landespokal Bavaria Winner: 7
Website: www.ssv-jahn.de
Most German football clubs - some more directly than others - have a connection to a fervent patriot called Friedrich Ludwig Jahn who, in 1811, began organising gymnastics festivals to counter 'the physical decline of humanity' following Prussia's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars. They soon became national events that inspired many gymnasts to form their own associations - including a group from Regensburg who formed 'Turnerbund Jahn Regensburg' in 1886 and named it after "The Father of Gymnastics". It was around this time that football, which Ludwig Jahn discredited as an elitist sport that only sought to divide the world into winners and losers, was beginning to take root in Germany and as more and more young men jumped off their pommel horses and began kicking a leather ball about, a football department was added to the new club in 1907.
The footballing gymnasts remained with their parent association until 1924 when they broke ranks to form 'Sportbund Jahn Regensburg' before a merger with two local clubs - 'Sportverein 1889 Regensburg' and 'Schwimmverein 1920 Regensburg' - saw the formation of 'Sport und Schwimmverein Jahn 1889 Regensburg' in 1934. After starting out as an unspectacular performer in the Bezirksliga Bayern throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, Jahn were given entry to the Gauliga Bayern after German football was divided into 16 regional divisions following the Nazi rise to power in 1933. The stay was a brief one however and they were relegated in 1935 but secured a return to the top-flight a couple of years later. The transition was handled better this time and the 1937-38 and 1938-39 seasons marked the club's high-water mark in the Gauliga era with successive third-place finishes before performances dropped off and they became a mid-to-lower table side.
As football and dictatorship untangled themselves after World War 2, fortunes went up and down as Jahn became a Fahrstuhlmannschaft (elevator team) dancing between the top-flight Oberliga Süd and second-tier Regionalliga Süd. By the mid-1970s however, things had begun to unravel and Jahn not only crashed into the amateur third-tier, but carried on through the fourth-tier and came to rest in the fifth-tier Landesliga Bayern-Mitte by the end of the 90s. In 2000, the football club left its parent association and with their autonomy secured, SSV Jahn Regensburg began life as an independent club in Regionalliga Süd - the then third-tier of German football. After a merger In 2002, they were joined by players from a local sports club called SG Post/Süd Regensburg and together they made a single season cameo in Bundesliga.2 in 2003-04. By 2005 however, things began to go wrong again as overextension and mismanagement meant that debts were threatening to swallow them up and they narrowly avoided bankruptcy.
After being walked back from the cliff edge and a spell in the fourth-tier Oberliga Bayern in 2006, Jahn regained some of their football composure and returned to the Regionalliga-Süd as champions the following year, just in time to benefit from a league restructure which saw them gain entry to the newly formed 3.Liga in 2008. Promotion to Bundesliga.2 was achieved four years later after an away goals victory over Karlsruher SC in a play-off but life back in the second-tier was brief again and they were relegated after just one season. The fall from grace didn't end there though as another despondent season saw them finish rock-bottom of 3.Liga with just 31 points and sink into the amateur Regionalliga Bayern before their new €52million Arena Regensburg (now known as the Jahnstadion Regensburg) had even opened its doors.
The move to the new stadium in 2015 however coincided with a renaissance on the pitch under coach Heiko Herrlich and, after returning to 3.Liga in 2016, the Jahnelf were back in Bundesliga.2 just a year later after finishing third in the table and overcoming fellow Bavarians TSV 1860 München in the play-offs. After several seasons of middle order ranking in the German second tier however, on-field performances began to tail off and a despondent 2022-23 campaign brought relegation and a return to 3.Liga football this season.
GROUND DETAILS
Ground Name: Jahnstadion Regensburg
Architect: agn Niederberghaus & Partner
Built: 2014 - 2015
Year Opened: 2015
Capacity: 15,210 (6,150 standing)
Executive Boxes: 5
Business Seats: 1,115
Media Seats: 81
Wheelchair Spaces: 51
Construction Costs: €52.7m
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Running Track: No
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Pitch Size: 105m x 68m
Website: www.jahnstadion-regensburg.de
Grounds:
Jahnstadion (1926 - 2015)
Continental Arena (2015 - 2019)
Arena Regensburg (2020) *
Jahnstadion Regensburg (2020 - ) *
* Stadium Renamed
Opened in 2015 and originally named the Continental Arena and then Arena Regensburg, the Jahnstadion Regensburg replaced the aging Jahnstadion which had been home to the club since 1926 and hosted matches during the 1972 Munich Olympics.
The move to the new stadium came about when local planning constraints prevented minimum capacity requirements for Bundesliga.2 grounds to be met at the Jahnstadion; and although German league authorities made an exemption for the club, plans for a new ground had already gained impetus and building work started in January 2014. Unfortunately, as the stadium build costs doubled, Jahn’s on-field fortunes also went from bad to worse with successive relegations to the amateur Regionalliga Bayern before the stadium had even been opened.
With a design inspired by classic English grounds, it's a pure football venue with a current capacity of 15,210; and the red of club and city colours is boldly represented around the stadium. It has four covered stands of identical height with red metal cladding contrasting with the cold concrete supports running through them. The stand ends are covered with glass sheeting which acts as a wind break but also allows light into the ground. Away fans are in the part terraced 'Andre Tribüne' at the north end of the stadium (Blocks N1-N2) and up to 5,264 of Jahn's most vocal support gather on the fully terraced Hans Jakob Tribüne (Blocks S1 -3). The Haupttribüne (main stand) and opposite Netto Marken Discount Tribüne are both all-seater affairs running the full length of the pitch.
To keep the corners of the ground clear for potential stadium expansion in the future and to minimise light pollution at night, the floodlights have been mounted on 28 distinctive masts on the Haupttribüne and Netto Marken Discount Tribüne, and a couple of video screens on the Andre and Hans Jakob Tribunes behind either goal completes the look of the stadium.
BUYING TICKETS
Ticket Office:
Website: www.ssv-jahnshop.de
Telephone: +49 (0) 941 69830
Email: jahnshop@ssv-jahn.de
Average Attendance:
2022-2023: 10,756 (Bundesliga.2)
2021-2022: 6,764 (Bundesliga.2) *
2020-2021: N/A *
2019-2020: 8,062 (Bundesliga.2) *
2018-2019: 11,769 (Bundesliga.2)
* Season affected by COVID pandemic
Expected Ticket Availability
Using Google Chrome’s translation feature makes booking Print@Home and Mobile tickets through the online shop a very straightforward process - even if you’re not a German speaker. Actual match tickets are also available from the fan shop at the stadium or from the stadium box offices which open 90 minutes before kick-off. Note: only disabled fans are currently able to book tickets via telephone, email or fax.
Regensburg's home fixtures very rarely sell out and so apart from possible plum ties against Bundesliga opposition in the DFB-Pokal, getting hold of a ticket for anywhere in the ground on any matchday shouldn't be a problem.
For 2023-24, Jahn are adopting a two-tier approach to pricing matches. According to the club website, home clashes against FC Ingolstadt 04, TSV 1860 München and SG Dynamo Dresden have been included in the 'Topspiel ' category of games. There's a €5 per seat surcharge (€2 on the terraces) to watch the Jahnelf in these matches.
Roughly speaking, full-paying adults will pay between €26 - €32 for seats, and it's €13 to stand on the terraces. Discounts are available for seniors, students, disabled people; and children (aged 6-13) can have a seat for €18 or a place on the terraces for €9. Even smaller people are allowed in free of charge on a 'lap ticket' which, as the name implies, doesn't entitle them to a seat of their own but requires them instead to sit on their parent's lap. Prices for the Jahn Familienblock (Family Stand) are €22 for adults and €10 per child (aged 6-13). Prices rise by a couple of euros if bought on a matchday from the stadium box offices located outside each of the stand entrances.
If you're buying your ticket on a matchday then admission to the stadium is only possible through the respective box office for each stand. For example, tickets for the Hans Jakob Tribüne are only available from the box office at the South I and South II / West entrances of the ground. Tickets for the Andre Tribüne are only available from the ticket office at the Nord I entrance ... und so weiter, und so weiter (and so on, and so on).
Information about visiting the Jahnstadion Regensburg for fans with disabilities can be found at:
www.bundesliga-reisefuehrer.de
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Stadium Address:
Franz Josef Strauß Allee 22
93053 Regensburg
BY CAR:
If you're travelling by car, the stadium is right at Exit 100a (Regensburg-Universität) on the A3 Autobahn. There are 1,800 parking spaces in the P1 - P2 car parks and the €5 fee can be paid at machines (contactless or with coins. Note: no change given) or via the RVV app (here). Free parking is available a 15 minute walk away at the University of Regensburg on Galgenbergstraße (P4 car park / 950 spaces); and at the Universitätsklinikum on Franz Josef Straß Allee (P5 car park / 600 spaces). 80 parking spaces for people with disabilities are located in the P1 parking area in the immediate vicinity of the main entrance. The use of these parking areas is only possible for persons with a blue parking permit (parking permit for persons with disabilities in the European Union).
PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
Your match ticket allows free travel on buses and trains (2nd class only) in the Regensburger Verkehrsverbund (RVV) area from four hours before kick-off until the end of business that day. There are also free shuttle buses (line F) which depart from bus stop A6 outside the main rail station from two hours prior to kick-off and make the return run up until 60 minutes after the ref has blown the full-time whistle. Buses 3, 5, 20, 21 and 38 also leave from the same area to the stadium.
BIKE DIRECTIONS:
An increasingly popular way of travelling to the match in eco-friendly Germany is by bike, and Regensburg are no different in encouraging you to 'do your bit' for the environment and improve your health in the process. 800 free 'bike parking' spaces are available at the stadium.
WALKING DIRECTIONS:
The Jahnstadion Regensburg is located a couple of miles south of Regensburg's centre, and the walk from the railway station takes about 40 minutes along Galgenbergstraße and over the A3 motorway bridge.
FAN SHOP, MUSEUM & STADIUM TOURS
FAN SHOP:
There is a club shop located at the front of the main stand for all your Jahn souveniers, match tickets and membership enquiries (Franz Josef Strauß Alle 22, 93-53 Regensburg; 10am-6pm, Tue-Thu; 10am-4pm, Fri; open two hours before kick-off and one hour after full-time on matchdays).
STADIUM TOURS:
60-minute tours are conducted around the stadium and fans have the choice of either going on a non-matchday or experience the build up with a tour on a matchday. Information about the tours and prices can be found here.
FOOD & DRINK OPTIONS
There are numerous food and drink outlets on the stadium concourses offering the usual German football fayre of beer, bratwurst, frikadellen etc and the kiosks accept cash and credit/debit cards or payment via Apple Pay, Google Pay etc on smartphones.
