VFL OSNABRÜCK
MAY 2025
Founded: Apr 17, 1899
Club Members: 8,374
Nickname: Die Lila-Weißen
Coach: Marco Antwerpen
Captain: Timo Beermann
3.Liga Champions: 2
German Amateur Champions: 1
Landespokal Niedersachsen Winner: 5
Northern German Cup: 1
Website: www.vfl.de
VfL Osnabrück was founded in 1899 and has since established itself as a key club in Lower Saxony.
Initially participating in local leagues, the club saw its first major successes in the early 20th century. Following World War II, VfL Osnabrück played in the Oberliga Nord, a top-tier league in German football at the time. Despite consistently strong performances, the club never managed to qualify for the Bundesliga when it was founded in 1963. Instead, Osnabrück remained in the second and third tiers, maintaining a dedicated fanbase and developing talented players.
VfL Osnabrück has frequently moved between Bundesliga.2 and the 3.Liga. The club achieved promotion to Bundesliga.2 in 2000, 2010, and again in 2019. Despite financial difficulties and competitive challenges, Osnabrück continues to be a resilient team, known for its fighting spirit. Osnabrück's recent campaigns have focused on stability in Bundesliga.2, with efforts to strengthen the squad and invest in youth development. With strong community support and a dedicated leadership team, the club aims to establish itself as a permanent fixture in Germany's second tier and push for future Bundesliga promotion.
GROUND DETAILS
Ground Name: Stadion an der Bremer Brücke
Built: 1931
Year Opened: 1933
Capacity: 16,098 (9,859 standing)
Executive Boxes: 34
Business Seats: 500
Wheelchair Spaces: 30
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Running Track: No
Floodlights: 1,200 lux
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Pitch Size: 105m x 68m
Grounds:
Kampfbahn Bremer Brücke (1933 - 1995)
Piepenbrock-Stadion an der Bremer Brücke (1995 - 2004) *
Osnatel Arena (2004 - 2016) *
Stadion an der Bremer Brücke (2017 - ) *
* Stadium Renamed
The Stadion an der Bremer Brücke, commonly known simply as Bremer Brücke, is the home ground of VfL Osnabrück and is located in the Schinkel district of Osnabrück. The stadium was originally built in 1931 by SC Rapid Osnabrück, a club that later merged back into VfL Osnabrück in 1938. Since then, it has been the permanent home of the team, deeply rooted in the club's history and identity.
Originally, the stadium had a capacity of over 30,000 spectators, but modern renovations and safety regulations have reduced this number to just over 16,000. The stadium's structure has evolved significantly since the 1970s when it consisted of the Grandstand (South Stand), two roofed terraces behind each goal (East Stand and West Stand), and an uncovered terrace opposite the grandstand (North Stand). In 2008, the North Stand was demolished to make way for a fully roofed modern stand, which opened the same year, although construction faced delays due to a dispute with a neighboring property owner and was not fully completed until 2011. The reconstruction reduced the overall capacity but increased the seating capacity to 6,192.
Over the decades, the stadium has undergone several name changes linked to sponsorship deals. It was previously known as Kampfbahn Bremer Brücke, Piepenbrock-Stadion an der Bremer Brücke, and Osnatel Arena. In 2017, following the expiration of the last sponsorship agreement, the stadium officially returned to its traditional name, Bremer Brücke. The name itself refers to a nearby railway bridge on the Osnabrück–Bremen railway line, which has become synonymous with the venue.
BUYING TICKETS
Ticket Office:
Website: www.vfl.de
Telephone: +49 (0) 180 6771899
Average Attendance:
2023-2024: 15,498 (Bundesliga.2)
2022-2023: 13,574 (3.Liga)
2021-2022: 8,822 (3.Liga) *
2020-2021: N/A *
2019-2020: 14,711 (Bundesliga.2) *
* Season affected by COVID pandemic
Expected Ticket Availability
Die Lila-Weißen draw quite large crowds for the the third tier but the stadium is rarely packed to the rafters and you should be ok keeping things traditional by presenting yourself at the box office (in front of the GiroLive Nordtribüne) on a matchday which opens 90 minutes before kick-off - although VfL will take an extra €2 off you if you buy your ticket from here. Note that no tickets are sold from the fanshops on a matchday.
If you're one of the anxious types who like to get everything sorted out in advance (or just want to save yourself €2), then you can buy E-Tickets (Print@Home or Mobile Ticket) via the online ticket shop. There's no English version unfortunately but Google Chrome’s translation feature makes booking tickets a straightforward enough process. If you want to practice your German, then you can also ring the hotline on +49 (0) 180 6771899 (€0.20/min. from landlines; max. €0.60/min. from mobiles).
The cost of an afternoon at the 'Brücke' will depend on the quality of the opposition facing VfL and where you want to watch the action from. Seats in the Stadtwerke Osnabrück Südtribüne and GiroLive Nordtribüne will cost adults €24-42, seniors and concessions €21.60-37.80; and children (aged 6-14 years) are let in for €12-21. To stand on the Westkurve or with the Osnabrück Ultras on the Ostkurve behind the goals, it's €14.50-16.50 for adults, €13.05-14.85 for seniors and concessions and €7.25-8.25 for children (aged 6-14 years). Away fans are welcomed into Block 3 in the Westkurve (€15) and are also given an area of seating (€25) in the GiroLive Nordtribüne.
Family tickets (the lower half of Block Q in the Stadtwerke Osnabrück Südtribüne and the entire Block E in the GiroLive Nordtribüne) are also available for €30 per adult and €3 per child (maximum two adults per child ticket). Note that family tickets in the GiroLive Nordtribüne are only available in advance and not at the box offices.
The Joe Enochs Kindertribüne is a separate area for children (aged 6-14 years) within the GiroLive North Stand. Adults are not allowed to enter this area of the stadium and tickets are available for €10. More information can be found here.
Information about visiting the Bremer Brücke for fans with disabilities can be found at:
www.bundesliga-reisefuehrer.de
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Stadium Address:
Hannes Haferkamp Platz 1
4984 Osnabrück
BY CAR:
If you're coming in your car, the simplest advice is to put the stadium address (see left) in your Sat-Nav and follow its guidance. However, it's worth noting that because the ground is right in the middle of a residential area, you're going to have a job finding somewhere to park when you arrive and the club make a point of suggesting fans should travel to the game using public transport. There's a small parking lot at the stadium but this is reserved for permit holders on match days, so try your luck at the Halle Gartlage (Schlachthofstraße 48, 49074 Osnabrück; €3 per car).
PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
With a valid match ticket, the buses and trains (2nd Class) within the Verkehrsgemeinschaft Osnabrück (VOS) transport network are free to ride around on for the entire matchday. There's no direct bus service between the Hauptbahnhof and the stadium so any journey is going to involve a change at Osnabrück Neumarkt. It's an easy walk from the station to the turnstiles but if you do want to make the journey by bus, hop on one of the many services (Bus lines M2,13,14,15,16,17 or 467) heading to Osnabrück Neumarkt, from where bus M4 (Direction: Belm) makes the 5 minute run to the conveniently named 'Osnabrück Bremer Brücke' stop outside the stadium. Extra tram and bus services also run on a matchday.
WALKING DIRECTIONS:
The stadium is just shy of a mile from the city centre and because getting there by public transport involves changing at Neumarkt, why not save yourself the hassle of squeezing onto a packed bus or shelling out for a taxi by strolling to the stadium on foot?
Exit the main station to the north by crossing the railway line and head onto An der Humboldtbrücke. Carry straight on for about 200 metres before turning right onto Buersche Straße. Pass under the railway and turn left onto Schinkelstraße. After quarter-of-a-mile, you'll reach the junction with Oststraße. Turn left here and the northwest corner of the stadium will be on your right.
FAN SHOP, MUSEUM & STADIUM TOURS
FAN SHOP:
Fan Shop an der Bremer Brücke
(Hannes Haferkamp Platz 1, 49084 Osnabrück; open 1-6pm Mon-Fri; two hours before kick-off and for one hour after full-time on home matchdays, On match days in the week on which a home match day takes place, there may be changed opening hours; email: shop@vfl.de)
Fan Shop Altstadt
(Markt 13, 49074 Osnabrück - inside the StadtGalerie Café; open 10am-6pm Mon-Fri - no ticket sales; tel: +49 (0) 541 2051368; email: info@vfl.de)
VfL-Fanshop am Solarlux Campus
(Industriepark 1, 49324 Melle; open 10am-5pm Mon-Thu, 10am-3pm Fri)
FOOD & DRINK OPTIONS
The usual fast food and drink options (chips, bratwurst etc) are sold inside the arena but the Bremer Brücke is a completely cashless venue and payment can only be made using credit and debit cards or via Apple Pay, Google Pay etc on smartphones.
STORAGE OF BACKPACKS & BAGS
Belt bags and small handbags can be taken into the stadium after a quick once over from security but nothing larger than an A4 sheet of paper (i.e backpacks, large bags). There are no drop-off facilities at the ground either so leave anything likely to be deemed 'Verboten' back at the hotel or in storage at the Hauptbahnhof.
OTHER CLUBS IN THE AREA
BUNDESLIGA: Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfL Bochum 1848
BUNDESLIGA 2: 1.FC Köln; FC Schalke 04, Fortuna Düsseldorf, SC Paderborn 07, SC Preußen Münster
3.LIGA: Alemannia Aachen, Borussia Dortmund II, DSC Arminia Bielefeld, FC Viktoria Köln, Rot Weiss Essen, SC Verl