Eintracht-Stadion

Eintracht-Stadion – where the Bundesliga's first shirt sponsor appeared

The Eintracht-Stadion on Hamburger Straße opened in 1923 and holds 23,325 today. It is a classic oval, originally laid out for football and athletics; the last major redevelopment came in 2013.

The championship of 1967

Eintracht Braunschweig won the German championship in 1967 with a side that scored fewer goals than almost every rival and conceded hardly any. It was a title built on organisation and discipline rather than flair, and it is still regarded as one of the most unusual in Bundesliga history.

The stag that became a crest

The most consequential episode at this ground was not a sporting one. In 1973 Eintracht Braunschweig wanted a sponsor on the shirt — the Jägermeister stag. The German FA had banned shirt advertising. The members responded by voting to make the stag the club's own crest; against a club badge the federation had no case.

The ban had to be lifted, and within a few years every Bundesliga club carried a name across the chest. The commercial history of German professional football effectively begins at this address.

Location and getting there

The stadium lies north-east of Braunschweig city centre at Hamburger Straße 210, a few minutes from the main station by tram. On matchdays the street fills with supporters in blue and yellow hours before kick-off — walk the last stretch and you get the build-up with it.

Braunschweig sits on the high-speed line between Berlin and Hanover, about thirty minutes from Hanover.