FC Dynamo Kyiv will face TSG 1899 Hoffenheim away in the Europa League matchday 2 game.
This club, founded way back in 1899, represents the former village of the same name with a population of about 3,000 people, which is now a district of the city of Sinsheim, Baden-Württemberg, with a population of about 35,000.
Hoffenheim home ground is the Rhein-Neckar-Arena in Sinsheim, which has a capacity of 30,150 or 25,641 at international matches.
The stadium was built over two years, from 2007 to 2009. In 2008, Hoffenheim got promoted to the first Bundesliga for the first time in their history, and the team spent the second part of the debut season in the elite at the newly built Rhein-Neckar-Arena, which was officially opened on January 24 2009.
In the opening match Hoffenheim faced the team of free agents from the Rhein-Neckar metropolitan region. In front of a sold-out crowd (30,150 spectators), Hoffenheim under the charge of Ralf Rangnick won 6:2.
In July of 2011, the arena sponsorship rights were sold to Wirsol Solar AG. In the following years, the stadium was called WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena. In January of 2019, waste disposal service provider PreZero, part of the Schwarz Group, became the new owner of the naming rights to the stadium, which has since been named PreZero Arena. The contract is valid until June 30 2025. However, during the matches under the auspices of UEFA, the classic name is used.
The stadium has 1,364 business class seats and 40 sky boxes that can accommodate ten or more people, all located in the west stand. On the territory of the stadium, there are 2,5 thousand parking spaces for spectators and another 2,5 for television crews, business clients, staff, etc.
In addition to being Hoffenheim home arena, the stadium hosted numerous international matches and tournaments, including the 2011 Women’s World Cup and the 2016 U19 European Championship.
The German national team also performed here. The Bundesteam played their first match at this stadium on May 29 2011. Then, with a full house in the stands, Germany defeated Uruguay in a charity match with a score of 2:1. The national team played the following two friendlies at this ground in 2018 (Germany – Peru – 2:1) and 2022 (Germany – Israel – 2:0). The national women’s team played here twice, including once in the official match of the Nations League.
Hoffenheim first euro cups match at the Rhein-Neckar Arena took place on August 15 2017. It was the Champions League qualifier in which Julian Nagelsmann’s team faced Liverpool (1:2). The following season, Hoffenheim, taking third place in the Bundesliga, directly qualified for the group stage of the Champions League and their matches were hosted by the Rhein-Neckar Arena.
In addition to football games, the stadium in Sinsheim hosted other sports, including American football and even ice hockey. On January 7 2017, the third DEL (German Hockey League) Winter Game was held here. It is a hockey game that is played every two years at the beginning of the year. This is a regular calendar game of the German Hockey League, which is transferred to a large football stadium. In front of 25,000 spectators at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Adler Mannheim beat Schwenninger Wild Wings 7:3 in the Baden-Württemberg derby.
Since the beginning of 2022, in cooperation with the sponsor, to whom the commercial name of the PreZero Arena is dedicated, the stadium is running a sustainability campaign, which aims to make the PreZero Arena the first zero-waste stadium in Germany. This includes, for example, the introduction of a reusable cup system and the subsequent processing of grass clippings into paper used for autographs. In April of 2023, TÜV Süd awarded the stadium zero-waste bronze category status, making PreZero Arena the first European stadium to achieve this status. In the beginning of May of 2024, TÜV Süd received a silver category certificate.
