Season Opener: TSG hosts Eibar

The end of pre-season is already a lot of action in itself. Saturday is the chosen day for TSG Hoffenheim's season opener at the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena. TSG fans will be able to have their picture taken with the Hoffenheim team, who will compete this season in the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time. Not only that but after the game against SD Eibar, (kick-off at 15:30 CET) the players will be mingling with the fans from 18:00 CET to sign photos and to have pictures taken.

But before all the extras there is a job to be done, which is the duel against Spanish top-flighters SD Eibar. The team from the Basque Country finished last season in ninth position in La Liga. Eibar was promoted in 2014, which was the first time in the club's 75 year history. The leap into the top division sparked concern, similarly to TSG's promotion, as to whether or not a club from such a small town was cut out to compete at Spain's top level. Eibar's population is only about 27,000 and the team plays in a stadium with capacity for only 6,000 spectators. After promotion, the club started fundraising in order to meet the financial licensing requirements. That is why former Bayern star Xabi Alonso, who played for the club in 2000/01, became a shareholder.

Football darts and food stalls

TSG wants to once again prove its strong pre-season form against the smalltown club. So far, Julian Nagelsmann's team has achieved some high scoring friendly victories, with an 8-2 against Heereveen and a 5-0 against Chievo where the team proved to be enthusiastic and feisty.

The WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena will open its doors at 14:30 CET but the day's activities will start earlier, offering plenty of action before kick-off. The supporting program starts at 11:30 CET in the VIP car park 1, in front of the arena. There will be attractions, such as a bouncy castle, face paints and football darts. There will also be the opportunity to get a TSG Academy football badge. On top of that, there will be plenty of food stalls and a beer garden.

For the first time in four years, catering prices will have increased in the WIRSOL-Rhein-Neckar-Arena, but only marginally. A beer (lager) will now cost 4.30 EUR and the amount served will increase from 0.4L to 0.5L. When calculated, the price increase is approximately 4 percent. The price increase for a shandy will be even less and from now on will cost 4.20 EUR for half a litre. An "arena-wurst" will now cost 3.30 EUR and the value of the Hoffi goodie bag will remain unchanged (3.95 EUR). The increase in prices, which also applies to other drinks, snacks and confectionery, is roughly equivalent to the rate of inflation since 2014. The increase in food prices is actually higher than our increase and TSG Hoffenheim offers competitive prices in comparison with other large-scale events.

Free entry for season ticket holders

The friendly fixture against SD Eibar for the 2018 season opener presented by WIRSOL is once again included in the season ticket. All standard season ticket holders will need to obtain a separate ticket (season opener 2018/2019) and all electronic season ticket holders will have their smartcard (electro-chip plastic cards) automatically updated for the game.

The following prices are applicable to all other fans: For Categories 1A and 1B, tickets will cost 10 EUR. For categories 2A, 2B and the family block, tickets will cost 7 EUR.

Tickets are available in the Fan Shop at the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena and at all other known vendors, including online. 

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