I wasn’t expecting to go to a fussball match while I was in Switzerland since I was going to be there midweek last week. Once I found out that the Swiss Super League was having a midweek matchday, though, I decided that I had to make it out to Letzigrund Stadium.
If you have been following the Champions League, then you know that Letzigrund Stadium is home to current competitor FC Zurich. If you follow the Swiss Super League (and I know you do) then you also know that Stadion Letzigrund is the temporary home of Grasshopper Club Zurich while the club waits for a new stadijm to be completed. The match that took place in Zurich during my trip was Grasshopper Club v. FC Aarau.
The Stadium is tucked away in the city. I had to take a tram out into the neighborhood and then work my way through some sidestreets to find the stadium. I expected to be able to follow people streaming to the stadium, as I do in most stadiums that I go to for the first time, but there was none of that here. Once I go to the stadium, I made my way to one of the several ticket booths. I purchased a corner seat for 29 Swiss Francs (about 20 Euros) and tried to get an aisle seat. The agent told me that it didn’t matter because there would be plenty of empty seats and I would be able to move if I wanted.
Plenty of extra seats turned out to be a huge understatement. If I remember correctly, the stadium holds around 25,000, but the attendance for this match was only 3,500, which was a little disappointing. I know that it was a midweek match against a last-place opponent, but c’mon Grasshopper Club supporters – you need to make a better showing than that.
What the Grasshopper Club supporters lacked in size, they more than made up for in noise. The supporters section in the corner of the stadium was perhaps the most entertaining that I’ve encountered yet. They were not only loud, but also coordinated.
The concessions were few, but there were no lines (obviously) and the prices were not too bad. I bought a beer for 5.50 SF plus a 2 SF deposit for the cup. They ended up keeping my deposit and I kept the cup as a souvenir.
One thing I didn’t like about the stadium is that it was built constructed more like an American football stadium in that there was too much room around the pitch and so the fans could not get close to the action. This was particularly true in the goal areas where the supporter sections were located. Those poor fans were dozens of meters from the match.
The match itself lacked drama. After no goals being scored in the first 42 minutes, Grasshopper Club went on a rampage and won 4-0.
Overall, I have to say that I was that although I had a good time, I was a little disappointed in the stadium. I wasn’t expecting it to be on the same level as Parc des Princes, but I did expect it to be better than most of the MLS stadiums to which I’ve been and it wasn’t. I’m glad to had had the experience, though. Next up: Allianz Arena (for a 2. Bundesliga match).
Posts
