PreZero Arena: Guide for Visiting Fans

The cleanest way in, if you're not driving, is by regional rail to Sinsheim Museum/Arena station. The Sinsheim Museum/Arena S-Bahn stop at the Elsenz Valley Railway (Elsenztalbahn) is just over a kilometre walk away, and there are shuttle buses from Sinsheim main station. Stopping at Sinsheim Museum/Arena gets you a 15-minute walk to the stadium. Deutsche Bahn Regional operates trains from Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof to Sinsheim Museum/Arena roughly hourly; tickets cost around $6–10 and the journey takes about 39 minutes. The S5 line is the one you want from Heidelberg. Importantly, your match ticket gives you travel eligibility on buses, trams, and trains on the Rhein-Neckar VRN network and the HNV — so the train effectively rides free with your ticket.

From Frankfurt Airport (FRA): There is no direct train from Frankfurt Airport to Sinsheim Museum/Arena; services go via Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof and take approximately 2 hours 12 minutes. The fastest option is driving at around 58 minutes. From Stuttgart Airport (STR): Driving takes approximately 1 hour 25 minutes. By train it's a complicated multi-leg journey closer to 2h 45m — honestly, just rent a car from Stuttgart.

By car, the stadium is accessed from the E50/A6 Autobahn by exiting at junction 33b Sinsheim-Süd. Uber and Bolt coverage in Sinsheim is thin — don't rely on rideshare apps to get you here from scratch. They're more useful for the last-mile hop from Sinsheim town centre.

The car parks usually open three hours before the start of the match. The public car parks at the stadium (P9–P11) are usually full at least half an hour before kick-off, and cost €10. The car parks along Neulandstrasse (P12 and the Technik Museum car parks P1–P6) are approached from the direction of Sinsheim; P12 costs €5, while the museum car parks charge €10.

The smartest move: park free at the Freibad (outdoor swimming pool) car park, from which you can reach the stadium on foot in approximately 20 minutes, or take the shuttle bus from the railway station directly to the stadium. That free option near the Freibad requires arriving earlier, but you'll save €10 and have an easier exit. Away fan coaches have a dedicated coach park in the immediate vicinity of the away entrance, signposted and exclusively for away supporters. If you're coming in a minibus or coach, that's exactly where you want to be.

Hotel Sinsheim, across the A6 next to McDonald's in the retail park, is the closest accommodation to the arena. It's convenient in a purely functional, motorway-services kind of way — fine if all you need is a bed and a burger. The remaining options are sandwiched between the main train station (Sinsheim Hbf) and the Hauptstraße main road; within Hoffenheim itself the choices don't get better.

The smarter play is basing yourself in Heidelberg, roughly 25 km away. While the village of Hoffenheim is tiny, nearby Heidelberg provides an excellent base for football fans, and many supporters base themselves there for a full weekend that mixes historic charm with modern football. Heidelberg's Altstadt has dozens of hotels across every price point, a proper bar scene, and a 26-minute fast train to Sinsheim Museum/Arena. You'll live better, spend less on food, and have somewhere worth being after the match.

Be honest with yourself: this is not a pre-match pub crawl destination. Given that Sinsheim is a small town and the stadium is located away from the centre, there are not loads of bars and restaurants to choose from. That said, here's what's actually there:

Jack Bar Ambiente (Eberhard-Layher-Straße 13, Sinsheim) — one of the specifically named options for away fans in Sinsheim. Low-key, worth a pre-match beer.

Rock Café Sinsheim (Karlsplatz 8) — another listed option, cash-only, near the town centre. Old-school and unpretentious.

The Technik Museum retail strip — across the Sinsheim-Süd motorway junction, the retail park offers McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Asia City China-Restaurant, Restaurant Fandango, and Pizza Kings. Not glamorous, but it's open, walkable from the stadium, and reliably fast.

Heidelberg, pre-trip — Vetter's Brauhaus is a classic Heidelberg brewery worth visiting for pre-match discussion, and you'll find O'Reilly's Irish Pub in the Altstadt draws a football crowd on big match days. Make Heidelberg your base and sort your eating and drinking there before taking the train in.

Only bags with a maximum size of DIN A4 (21×30cm) may be brought into the stadium, with the exception of bags with a compartment, such as gym bags or cloth bags. In other words: a standard A4 flat tote or small handbag is fine; anything with a separate zipped pocket or divider is not, even if it's the same dimensions. Pack accordingly — leave the backpack in the hotel.

There are two drop-off points for bags on the stadium grounds; due to capacity limitations, storage is available only to a limited extent, and costs €5 (cash only).

The PreZero Arena generally opens 120 minutes before kick-off. Away fans should head for the northeast corner — blocks G1, G2, H1, H2 — and follow the separate stewarding instructions for visiting supporters. Away coaches have their own dedicated entrance. Your match ticket includes free travel on the VRN regional network , so don't buy a separate train ticket if you already have your matchday ticket.

Kiosks accept cash, card, credit card, and contactless including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Bluecode — and checkouts are divided into cash and cashless lanes to cut queuing times. TSG also offers mobile ordering via smartphone, letting you order food and drinks and pay from your seat without queuing.

A number of parking spaces are available for visitors with disabilities near the stadium grounds. Walking frames can be brought into certain areas of the arena and parked in a designated walking frame area behind the east stand (Block L); visitors should register in advance at teambarrierefrei@tsg-hoffenheim.de. Crutches and walking aids are generally permitted if medically indicated, provided there are no safety concerns; however, rollators cannot be brought into blocks A–H.

The stadium offers good views from nearly all seats. For specific requests — elevator access, wheelchair seating locations, or assistive accommodations — the club's dedicated accessibility contact (teambarrierefrei@tsg-hoffenheim.de) is your best resource ahead of matchday. The venue is modern (opened 2009) and was built to current accessibility standards, but communicating requirements in advance will always get you better results than arriving and hoping.

The away section is located in the northeast corner of the ground, with visiting supporters in blocks G1, G2, H1, and H2. In that northeast section, just over 9% of the allocation has restricted views — it can be hard to see action at the southwest corner of the ground from the away end, but it is the perfect location to celebrate when the visiting team scores at the northern goal.

The PreZero Arena opened in 2009 and views from all four sides are generally impressive; the elevated stands in the West and East provide particularly excellent sightlines. If you're a home fan or a neutral wanting the best view in the house, the Osttribüne (East Stand) mid-tier is considered the sweet spot — elevated, central, great angle. Almost 10,000 of the 30,150 places are standing terraces in the southern stand and away section , so if you're in the away end standing terrace, expect it to be loud, bouncy, and properly German when the goals go in.

The honest truth about the PreZero Arena is that you will probably be louder than half the home end, and nobody at TSG Hoffenheim is entirely sure how to feel about that. Expect a family-friendly, analytical crowd — more tactics talk than terrace chanting. Away fans are frequently more audible than the Hoffenheim faithful , which is both flattering and a little melancholy. The stadium itself is genuinely well-designed — sightlines are clean, concourses are spacious, and the food and drink operation is efficient. The location, however, is relentlessly utilitarian: you're next to an Autobahn, surrounded by car parks and a technology museum. It's the largest stadium in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan area, situated in a town with only a few thousand inhabitants — a Bundesliga cathedral dropped into a commuter town, which gives the whole experience a slightly surreal quality that, once you've been, you kind of appreciate.

By train: The dedicated matchday relief trains added by Deutsche Bahn make the Sinsheim Museum/Arena station functional post-match, but the platform will be heaving. Hoffenheim states that Deutsche Bahn organises additional relief trains for fans on matchdays. Expect to wait 20–30 minutes for the crush to clear before getting on a train comfortably. If you can kill 25 minutes at the away end — have another beer, let the crowd funnel out — you'll board with far less stress. The train back to Heidelberg runs around 25–47 minutes depending on the service.

By car: Free parking is available near the venue, but visitors report that exiting after events can be challenging due to traffic congestion. Car parks typically open three hours before kick-off , and the lots closest to the stadium (P9–P11) generate the worst exit traffic. If you're parked at the Freibad lot or along Neulandstrasse, you'll reach the A6 faster — budget 30–45 minutes from final whistle to a freely moving road on a busy matchday.

By rideshare: Uber and Bolt coverage here is sparse. Don't expect surge pricing so much as the possibility of no cars at all. Walk towards Sinsheim town centre (about 20 minutes) before calling a ride — you'll get better pickup options and shorter wait times than standing in the car park staring at your phone. Wait at least 20 minutes after the final whistle before attempting any pickup near the stadium.

One tip to beat the crowd: Leave your seat at the 85th minute if the result is settled. The difference between exiting at 85' and 92' is roughly 4,000 people trying to use the same rail platform.

How do I get to PreZero Arena without a car?

Take a regional DB train from Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof to Sinsheim Museum/Arena — the journey takes around 26–48 minutes depending on the service. From there it's a 15-minute walk or free shuttle bus to the ground.

Does my match ticket include public transport?

Yes — your match ticket gives you travel eligibility on buses, trams, and trains on the VRN and HNV networks on matchday. Use it for the train from Heidelberg or Mannheim.

What bags are allowed into PreZero Arena?

Only bags up to DIN A4 size (21×30cm) are permitted; bags with compartments such as gym bags or cloth bags are excluded. If your bag is too large, you can use the on-site bag drop for €5 (cash only).

How much does parking cost?

Stadium car parks P9–P11 cost €10. Neulandstrasse P12 costs €5, while the Technik Museum lots cost €10. The Freibad lot is free.

What time do gates open?

The PreZero Arena generally opens 120 minutes before kick-off. Away fans should aim to arrive early to find their section without stress.

Can I pay cash inside the stadium?

Yes — kiosks accept cash, card, credit card, and contactless payments, with separate cash and cashless lanes to reduce wait times.

Where is the away section?

Away supporters are located in the northeast corner, in blocks G1, G2, H1, and H2.

What's the nearest airport?

Sinsheim has no designated airport; most travelling fans will land at Stuttgart Airport (STR), approximately 40 miles away. Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is also viable and roughly equidistant by road.