VfB Stuttgart: Champions League tickets cause frustration among fans

Author: Soccer-ticket.com | Published on 4. September 2024

The eagerly awaited UEFA Champions League draw took place on Thursday 29 August 2024 in the Principality of Monaco. The new format of the UEFA Champions League promises more excitement, as the tried-and-tested tournament system has had to make way for a new, attractive league format. The number of teams has been increased from 32 to 36, who will compete in a league for a place in the round of 16.

The Champions League participants have 8 matches (4 home and 4 away), which were allocated in the draw. VfB Stuttgart, who finished the 2023/2024 season as German runners-up and thus secured a UEFA Champions League place, are also in the draw. After all the joy of the Swabians’ UEFA Champions League entry, the draw has left fans more frustrated than excited.

Champions League ticket allocation: price increase at VfB-Stuttgart

The reason for this is not the opponents, as they are quite attractive with Real Madrid (away at the Santiago Bernabéu), Juventus Turin (away at the Juventus Stadium) and the home games against Paris Saint-Germain and UEFA Europa League winners Atalanta Bergamo, among others.

The high prices for the Champions League home games are a source of frustration, as the Stuttgart authorities have significantly increased the ticket prices for the UEFA Champions League home games compared to the Bundesliga. A standing-room ticket for VfB Stuttgart’s home matches in the premier class costs 19 euros, compared to 14 euros in the Bundesliga.

VfB, who are going into the UEFA Champions League as outsiders, are offering tickets at the same price as FC Bayern Munich last season, but the Munich team went into the competition as one of the favourites.

UEFA Champions League tickets: no individual tickets for VfB Stuttgart season ticket holders?

VfB Stuttgart’s UEFA Champions League home matches are an expensive pleasure. The club does not offer season ticket holders individual tickets, but only a complete package. As a reminder: A standing-room only day ticket in the MHP Arena costs 19 euros. For standing room season ticket holders, this means a total price of 76 euros for 4 home games.

It will be particularly expensive for holders of a seated season ticket. While the cheapest seat ticket in the Bundesliga costs €23, this seat costs €55 in the UEFA Champions League. The situation is similar in the most expensive category, where tickets cost 52 euros in the Bundesliga and a whopping 125 euros in the top flight. For a seat in the Cannstatter-Kurve, season ticket holders will therefore have to pay 220 euros, which is causing displeasure among the fans.

However, the price is not the only point of criticism; VfB Stuttgart’s ticket allocation system is also causing annoyance.

VfB Stuttgart: Who gets a ticket for the Champions League home games?

In Stuttgart, the MHP Arena will probably be full despite the high ticket prices for home matches in the UEFA Champions League, but not everyone has the chance to get a ticket for these matches. Only those who have a season ticket or are a member of VfB Stuttgart have the chance to get a ticket.

Season ticket holders can also book their season seats for the UEFA Champions League, but members need a lot of luck to get a ticket. VfB members have to hope that they will be allocated a ticket in the application phase. If fans are lucky enough to be considered for a ticket, it is still questionable whether they will be able to sit with their family or not.

This is because each member can only order one ticket. This means that in a family of four, everyone must first be a member of VfB Stuttgart. Next, they must hope to be considered in four separate ordering processes. The chances of spending the UEFA Champions League evening together are therefore slim. This fact is causing a great deal of frustration among VfB Stuttgart supporters.

VfB Stuttgart: Those responsible respond to the criticism

This is a real problem, especially for families with small children or for people who don’t feel comfortable being alone in the stadium. The idea of offering as many fans as possible access to the stadium is at the same time depriving some others of the chance of a trip to the arena.

Some fans are venting their frustration on social media, with one user writing that it is “crazy” to get tickets more easily at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He is alluding to the availability of tickets due to the size of the stadium. With a capacity of 30,210, the BayArena has only around half the capacity of Stuttgart’s MHP Arena (60,058 seats).

The club has responded to the flood of criticism and issued a statement on the ticket allocation system. “We have decided in favour of the 1-ticket rule in order to give as many members as possible access. We are aware of the desire to sit next to each other, but we cannot do this technically and organisationally,” the club said on the social media platform “X”.