A Look Ahead to the Munich Summer Sports Season

Posted: 2:36 pm, May 2, 2014 by Mark Sheridan

Deon Thompson fights of Ludwigsburgs's Mario Stojic at the Audi Dome on Arpil 24th. -- photo: dpa

Munich (Special to MunichNOW)
Editors Note:
Mark Sheridan, our new intern, updates our look ahead at the various professional and semi-pro sports teams in Munich in this very informative piece. It is one thing to read about a match or game - altogether quite another thing to actually attend one.

Here is everything you need to know about soccer, basketball, baseball, football, and hockey over the coming three months. Tickets range from the near-impossible with FC Bayern Football all the way to free for the Munich Caribes baseball team.

FC BAYERN MUNICH

- Venue: Allianz Arena, 71.137 places (U6 Fröttmaning)
- Competitions: Bundesliga, German Cup, Champions League

Saturday, May 10th - Game 34 (Bundesliga) - vs. VfB Stuttgart (3.30 pm)

-       Tickets: Everything is sold-out until the end of the season. With some luck, you may find some tickets on Viagogo (official Bayern ticket exchange) or on other ticket websites. You can always try directly online online or at the Säbener Straße headquarters on the small chance that there might be an odd ticket available.
-       Prices: From €35 to €70 for category A matches. From 30€ to 60€ for category B matches. 15€ for the standing areas behind the goals.
-       Season: A new great year for FC Bayern and their host of stars. They are on their way to a new triple and have already secured their 24th Bundesliga title.

There are FC Bayern fans all over the city, way more than 71,137 the Allianz Arena holds, so you can always find a sports bar or kneipe with the match on a big flat-screen TV. You will surely spend a good time alongside them arguing sports and sampling Munich’s beer culture.

UPDATE: FC Bayern’s season is nearly over now after a defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League Semi-Final. They already have their 24th Bundesliga title secured. Regular Bundesliga will resume in August this year, so be sure to get your tickets early.

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Bayern have already secured their 24th Bundesliga title but failed to reach the Champions League final — photo: dpa

TSV 1860 MUNICH

- Venue: Allianz Arena, 71.137 places (U6 Fröttmaning)
- Competition: 2.Bundesliga

Sunday, May 4th - Game 33 (2.Bundesliga) - vs. VfL Bochum (1.30 pm)

-       Tickets: You will always find tickets for an 1860 game. They are available online, by phone (0185 60 18 60), at the ticket-center on the Grünwalder Straße, or at the center city’s fan-shop on Orlandostraße. You can even find them on the day of the match at the stadium.
-       Prices: From €19.90 to €36 if you want to have a great view. €14 in the standing areas behind the goals with various reductions according to your social status.
-       Season: It has been a flat one for 1860 on the field and they have nothing to play for from now on other than more experience. Off the field they already have changed their coach twice and are now just working towards next season.

Tickets for FC Bayern are hard to get so if you want to go to a match at the Allianz Arena, you usually have to choose 1860. It’s worth it as it is a great stadium and the fans are passionate. They usually are between 20,000 and 25,000 at a match. You will not be seeing FC Bayern quality football, but you will have a good time in a world-class stadium.
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UPDATE: 1860′s season is also nearly over, with only one more home match remaining.

Kai Bülow celebrates his last-minute winner in the Bavarian derby against Greuther Fürth — photo: dpa

FC BAYERN BASKETBALL

- Venue: Audi Dome, 6.700 places (U6 Westpark / U4, U5, S7, S20, S27 Heimeranplatz)
- Competition: Beko BBL

Sunday, May 4th - Game 34 (Beko BBL) - vs. ALBA Berlin (5.20 pm)

Bayern have reached the Quarter-Final stages of the play-offs, where they face Ludwigsburg -photo: dpa

Play-Offs:
Saturday, May 10th - Quarterfinal - vs. MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Tuesday, May 13th - Quarterfinal - vs. MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg (in Ludwigsburg)
Thursday, May 15th - Quarterfinal - vs. MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg

-       Tickets: FCBB will have tickets for you. They are just going away a bit faster for the matches against top teams like ALBA Berlin. They are only available online or by phone (01806 99 11 02).
-       Prices: From €11.50 (standing area) to €40.00 for category A matches. From €10.00 (standing area) to €35.00 for category B matches. There are usually discounts for seniors and kids.
-       Season: FC Bayern Basketball are leading the Beko BBL at the moment. Malcolm Delaney and his friends also made a great run for their first season in the Euroleague but fell short to qualify for the quarter-finals.

When FC Bayern wants something, they will usually get it - and FC Bayern wants a championship basketball team. You can become part of the process by coming out and supporting this team which is sure to do better and better with each game in European basketball. You never know who you will see on the court or in the stands - American stars on the way up, some on a Euro leg of their careers, and some German players eying to be the next Dirk Nowitzki
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UPDATE: FC Bayern qualified for the Play-Offs of the Beko BBL, and have drawn MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg as opponents for the best-of-three Quarter-Final series. The first of the three games is scheduled for Saturday, the 10th of May in Munich.

MUNICH CARIBES BASEBALL

- Venue: Ballpark Oberwiesenfeld (U3 Oberwiesenfeld)
- Competition: Regionalliga Südost

Sunday, May 4th - Game 3 (Regionalliga) - vs. Gauting Indians (1.00 pm & 3.30 pm)
Sunday, May 11th - Game 4 (Regionalliga) - vs. Fürth Pirates (1.00 pm & 3.30 pm)
Sunday, May 25th - Game 5 (Regionalliga) - vs. Haar Disciples (1.00 pm & 3.30 pm)
Sunday, June 15th - Game 7 (Regionalliga) - vs. Virngrund Elks (1.00 pm & 3.30 pm)
Saturday, July 12th - Game 10 (Regionalliga) - vs. Ingolstadt Schanzer (1.00 pm & 3.30 pm)

-       Tickets: No ticket required to attend a baseball game.
-       Prices: -
-       Season: Their season starts at the end of the month. They are coming off a first place in the same Regionalliga Südost with a 25 wins and 3 losses record.

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Regional Champion Munich Caribes Baseball Team — photo: Munich Caribes

MUNICH COWBOYS (AMERICAN FOOTBALL)

- Venue: Dantestadion, 12.000 places (U1 Westfriedhof)
- Competition: German Football League (GFL)

Saturday, May 10th - Game 3 (GFL) - vs. Franken Knights (4.00 pm)
Saturday, June 14th - Game 5 (GFL) - vs. Allgäu Comets (4.00 pm)
Saturday, June 21st - Game 6 (GFL) - vs. Saarland Hurricanes (2.00 pm)
Saturday, August 9th - Game 10 (GFL) vs. Stuttgart Scorpions (4.00 pm)
Saturday, August 23rd - Game 12 (GFL) - vs. Rhein-Neckar Bandits (4.00 pm)
Saturday, September 6th - Game 14 (GFL) vs. Marburg Mercenaries (4.00 pm)

-       Tickets: Don’t panic, you will get yours. The club averages 750 spectators a game. They are available at the stadium on match-day or you can buy them online.
-       Prices: €11.00 if you want to be in the covered stand, €8.00 otherwise.
-       Season: Football is back in Munich. Last season saw the Cowboys make a run to get back to the playoffs. They eventually lost to Dresden in the quarter-finals, but the team is getting back to its standards. Surely it will be an exciting one for the players, the staff, and the followers.

UPDATE: Their season got off to a slow start with defeats to Schwäbisch Hall and Stuttgart, but they’re bound to get better as the season progresses.

Football is a developing madness here in Germany and Munich is no exception. The German League is probably the most competitive in Europe right now and it will fill the need for the football addict until the start of the new NFL season - and is one good way to spend sunny summer Saturday afternoons.
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The Munich Cowboys are chasing their first victory of the season -photo: dpa

Please note:
The EHC Red Bull München just finished their season with a 7th place, enough to get them into to the pre-playoffs. They, however, lost to the Iserlohn Roosters and thus could not continue past the first round. It is only a matter of time, though, until things turn around. They play in the first division at the Olympia Eishalle (6,136 seats).

The season is already over for EHC München after reaching the first round of the play-offs. -photo: dpa

So there it is - you have no excuse not to get out and support one or more of our local sports teams this spring and summer.