Expat guide on sport events
When it comes to spectator sport events, there is always something going on in Berlin.
Football
Football, known as Fußball or soccer, is by far the most popular sport in Berlin. Around World Cup time, once every four year, the city goes especially wild – especially when Germany is a favorite.
Berlin’s home team is Hertha BSC. Matches are usually once a week; 20:00 Fridays; 15:30 Saturdays; or 16:30 Sundays and are played at the Olympiastadion. Games are well attended and shown in bars and pubs throughout town.
Tickets cost from €19 and can be bought online.
http://www.herthabsc.de
American Football
In Berlin, American football is very popular and not just among expats. Formed in 1979, the German Football League consists of 12 teams. In the first week of October 8 of these teams compete in the German Bowl.
Tickets cost from €8.50 and can be bought online.
http://www.berlinadler.de (site only in German)
Athletics
Germans love their track and field and in Berlin the world class Olympiastadion is home to the city’s meets. One particular event of note is the ISTAF Athletics Meet. Since 1937, Berlin has been host to this one-day international meet. This is the last of four events in the IAAF’s Golden League with $1 Million in prize money to be awarded to winning athletes. This kind of prize pool attracts high profile, world-record-breaking results.
Tickets cost from €9 and can be bought online.
http://www.istaf.de/
Basketball
Basketball in Berlin is massively popular with 18 city clubs including Berlin. The seasons runs from September through May and there is a magazine and online community (Fünf and ‘Nice Dunk’ http://www.schoenen-dunk.de) devoted to the sport.
Tickets cost from €10 and can be bought online.
http://www.albaberlin.de
Cycling
In a city full of passionate cyclists, it’s no wonder that this is a popular spectator sport. Berliner Sechstagerennen has been running since 1906 and is a spectacular event.
Tickets cost from €30 and can be bought online.
http://www.velodrom.de
Horse Racing
There are three racetracks in Berlin. Galopprennbahn-Hoppegarten where thoroughbred races are held from April through to October; Pferdesportpark, the home to the trots (harness racing) with a regular Wednesday night event; and Trabrennbahn Mariendorf whose Derby Day in August is an international event.
Tickets cost from €7, €2 and €3 respectively.
- http://www.hoppegarten.com/ (site only in German)
- http://www.pspsportpark.de/ (site only in German)
- http://www.berlintrab.de/ (site only in German)
Ice Hockey
The ice-hockey national league commenced in 1994 when Germany’s private clubs set it up. Since then the sport has taken off. Currently in Berlin there is one team, the Eisbären.
A good English resource for daily hockey updates on news and scores is http://www.germanhockey.net
Tickets cost from €16.30 and can be bought online.
http://www.eisbaeren.de/ (site only in German)
