Year after year Borussia Dortmund invests a seven figure sum  into the 41-year-old stadium on Strobelallee. The noticeable innovations will be ready before the opening game of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday.

New VIP entrance

A new entrance will open up for season ticket holders in front of the West stand and this will also serve as a meeting point for stadium tours.

Entrance for the away fans at the North stand.

Away fans should be monitored more carefully before games in order to prevent pyrotechnics among other things from being smuggled into the stadium. At the entrance Nord-Mitte fans will go through turnstiles that have been moved forward from late summer/autumn onwards. There was a successful test phase during the last three games of the season. As seen from the Strobelallee side, the home fans enter from the right and the away fans from the left, making separation of the fans a lot easier. At matches against big rivals, such as against Schalke 04, crowd dividers may be used temporarily to ease separation. It has not yet been decided whether this would be mobile or fixed.

The new “Stadiondeckel”

BVB has taken over the food stands at Signal Iduna Park so only the mobile stalls in and around the stadium will continue to be operated by our partner Aramark. Furthermore, from today a new payment system will be in operation. The new “BVB-Stadiondeckel” is fan friendly, handy and deposit free. Registration and a log in is only required when you top up online or on the BVB app. After your last transaction the card is valid for three years. A credit payment is also possible on match days.

Cash payment is possible once again

For fans who regularly come to games the “Stadiondeckel” is the most comfortable and quickest payment method, but it is not compulsory. At the so-called “multi payment kiosks” it is possible to pay by cash and debit card as well as the “Stadiondeckel”. In one of our next issues we will show you the locations of these “multi payment kiosks”.

Beer in the fast lane

Long queues at the bar just to get a beer? That’s now a thing of the past thanks to the “Flügelflitzer” which is a new express kiosk where only beer is served. This will take the strain off food stands and reduce waiting times. The “Flügelflitzer” can be found on level two of the North and South stands and levels two and five of the West and East stands respectively.

Give me the cup!

We are getting used to our new cup system. Since the end of last season we have been working with disposable cups made from cornflour which are 100% biodegradable. “Give me the cup” is our campaign to reduce the amount of rubbish in the stadium. Originally a plan for levels one and two of the South stand, we have now installed special bins in which you can easily dispose of these cups. At the first three home games, the old cup can still be exchanged at various stands. In addition to the disposable cups each fan has the opportunity to purchase a so-called “Souvenir Cup” for €1,50 on match days. For hygiene reasons refills are not possible.

Ladies and Gents Toilets

There are too few and too few nice toilets, especially those that have been there since 1974. In addition to the new WCs installed last season on level one in the West stand, there are five new toilet areas.

Standing Block 63

A new standing terrace with 1,311 places will open on the lower tier of block 63 of the North stand which will increase the stadium capacity by 692 to 81,359. This block is to be used predominantly by young people aged 15 and over who are no longer allowed to sit in the cheaper family seats. “We wanted to give young people a new home” said organisations manager Dr Christian Hockenjos.

Goal Line Technology

Its first use at the Cup Final in Berlin in May was celebrated and now the goal line technology “Hawk Eye” is ready to be used in league games. Now there will be no dispute whether the ball has gone over the line or not thanks to the fourteen cameras that have been installed under the stadium’s roof.

Car access

There has sometimes been a long line of vehicles on Wittekindstraβe up to Barop and it hasn’t looked any better in the direction of the city centre. To ease congestion on Ruhrallee at home games there is a new feature on the bad spot: a left turn off onto Strobelallee. Here a set of traffic lights as well as a second left turn off will be built. Additionally, there are now two lanes providing access to the entrance of the car park. BVB contributed €140,000 to the overall €450,000 cost of this project.