Stadium Rules
§ 1 – Area of application / purpose
1. The stadium rules are intended to ensure controlled use and guarantee safety and order in the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA and its associated outdoor facilities.
2. The area of application is marked with a line on the accompanying map, which is part of these stadium rules.
3. With the purchase of a ticket of admission, visitors to the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA recognise these stadium rules as binding no later than upon entry into the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA. These stadium rules apply to all events that take place in the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA.
§ 2 - Dedication
1. VOLKSWAGEN ARENA is mainly used for hosting football matches. In addition, other sporting and non-sporting events can be hosted.
2. An entitlement of the public to use the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA or individual facilities does not exist.
3. Contracts concluded in the event of third-party use of the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA are governed by civil law.
§ 3 - Householder’s rights
1. The legal representatives and agents of VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH are in possession of householder’s rights, along with the police and the Security and Enforcement Services (SES) at events. They are entitled to give visitors instructions in accordance with these stadium rules.
§ 4 - Presence in the facilities
1. In the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA and its associated outdoor facilities, presence in the facilities is only allowed by those people who possess a valid ticket of admission or other proof of entitlement, or who can prove their right to be present at the particular event in a different way.
2. During a visit to a football match, entry and presence in the area of the Woelfi Stand (Wölfikurve) are permitted by a maximum of two adults only in conjunction with at least one child. An exception to this rule applies in this area for retirees and seniors. They may use the area also without accompanying children.
3. Unaccompanied children may gain access to the arena only if they are 14 years of age or older.
4. Spectators must take a seat at the location stated on the admission ticket for the particular event or another seat assigned by the SES or by the police for security reasons. This is especially true for spectators of the visiting clubs, which will not be allowed in the area of the North Stand (Nordkurve, home team fan area) despite a valid ticket of admission. For sold-out events, the SES is instructed to prohibit access of guest fans with tickets for this area of the stadium.
5. To ensure support during the event and the safety of wheelchair users in case of an evacuation, wheelchair users may gain access to the stadium only with an accompanying person (minimum age 16 years).
6. When the ticket holder leaves the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA, the ticket of admission loses its validity; this is also true for owners of season tickets in terms of access entitlement on the specific game day.
7. In exceptional cases, at the request of the SES or the police, visitors are obliged to identify themselves using an official personal ID.
8. For presence in the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA on non-event days, the rules adopted for this purpose by VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH apply.
9. Persons who are heavily intoxicated in the judgement of the SES, or who are carrying dangerous or prohibited items in accordance with § 7 of the stadium rules, or who have the intention to endanger safety, may not remain within the area of application of the stadium rules.
10. For the safety of visitors, the stadium and the area surrounding the stadium are monitored by video with a maximum radius of 500 m.
11. All visitors agree to grant to all media the gratuitous use of their images and voices in connection with the event for photographs, live broadcasts, TV/radio programmes and/or recordings of image and/or sound.
12. Presence in the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA for the purpose of media coverage of the event (television, radio, internet, print, photo) is only permitted with the approval of VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH and in specially designated areas for media representatives. Without prior approval of VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, ticket holders are therefore not permitted to record sound, photos, videos, descriptions or results of the game – unless this is done solely for private, non-commercial purposes. In no case is the public dissemination or reproduction of sound, photographs, or video recordings (even via Internet or mobile) or the support of other people in such activities permitted without the consent of VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH. For the activities of media representatives in conjunction with a football event, the media guidelines of the Deutsche Fußball-Liga GmbH (DFL) and the corresponding provisions of the football associations (e.g. DFB, UEFA, FIFA) also apply.
§ 5 – Access control/checks by the SES
1. Every visitor is obliged to voluntarily present to the SES his ticket of admission or his authorisation ID upon entering the ARENA facilities and upon checks within the ARENA, and to surrender it on demand for verification. Upon request, this obligation also applies to the police.
2. For discounted tickets (e.g. for retirees, students), proof of the discount reason (e.g. pensioner ID, student ID card) must be presented to the SES on request at access control points to the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA. If proof of entitlement to the discount cannot be presented, the difference between the reduced and the regular admission fee must be paid. Otherwise, the SES can deny entry to the ticket holder.
3. The SES is entitled to examine persons and their belongings, as well as use technical means to do so, in order to determine whether they pose a security risk due to alcohol or drug use or due to carriage of weapons, pyrotechnics or other dangerous objects.
4. Persons who cannot prove entitlement to be present at the event, or who pose a security risk in accordance with paragraph 3, shall be turned away and prevented from entering the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA or expelled from the area of application of the stadium rules. 5. The same applies to persons against whom there is a nationwide stadium ban in effect or for whom a stadium-related ban has been issued, as well as to visitors who refuse a search pursuant to paragraph 3.
6. The SES is entitled to verify the identity of visitors by inspecting their identity papers issued by the authority (ID card, passport, etc.). Persons who refuse consent to be searched or have their identity verified can be turned away at the visitor control and prevented from entering the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA.
7. An entitlement by rejected visitors to a refund of the fee of admission does not exist. 8. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH stands for a cosmopolitan, tolerant football culture and condemns xenophobic, racist, homophobic, violent, anti-Semitic, left- or right-wing extremist behaviours, philosophies of life and political attitudes. For this reason, people who give the impression with their outward appearance that they represent a pattern of such behaviour, philosophy of life or political attitude are excluded from all events. The outward appearance includes typical clothing with thematic characters with which different numbers or
combinations of letters make the attitude of the wearer clear, or certain clothing brands which serve as a means of recognition of such an attitude (e.g. Thor Steinar or Consdaple).
Furthermore, individuals who express such behaviour, philosophy of life or political attitude through flags, patches, propaganda material, chants, or comments are excluded from all events.
1. Within the area of application, each visitor must behave in such a way that others are not harmed or endangered, or hindered or harassed more than unavoidable under the
circumstances.
2. Visitors must follow the instructions of the organiser, SES, police, fire brigade, rescue services and stadium announcer.
3. For reasons of safety and to ward off dangers, visitors are obliged to take seats other than those noted on their tickets (also in other areas) or to leave the stadium and the adjacent outdoor facilities when instructed by persons authorised to issue such instructions as per par. 2.
4. All entrances, exits, emergency exits and escape routes must be kept fully accessible for the intended purpose.
Notwithstanding these stadium rules, persons authorised as per par. 2 can adopt necessary further arrangements in individual cases to prevent or eliminate danger to life, health or property. The instructions issued for this purpose are to be followed.
§ 7 - Prohibitions
1. a. The North Stand (Nordkurve, block F, 01–13 in the lower tier and 02–14 in the upper tier) is the home fan area of the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA. It is prohibited for guest fans to remain or loiter in this area. The SES is instructed and authorised to remove spectators who are recognisable as guest fans or conspicuous due to their behaviour, even if they have a valid ticket for that area. If the ARENA is sold out, the spectator in question will be expelled from the stadium or denied access to the stadium. In the home fan area, presentation of fan items or utensils of the visiting club is prohibited.
b. The southwest area of the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA (lower tier blocks 29, 33 and 35) always marks the guest fan area. However, a variable extension of the guest fan area is possible in the upper tier (blocks 30–36), depending on the needs of the visiting club. It is prohibited for home fans to remain or loiter in the guest fan area. The SES is instructed and authorised to remove spectators who are recognisable as home fans or conspicuous due to their behaviour, even if they have a valid ticket for that area. If the ARENA is sold out, the spectator in
question will be expelled from the stadium or denied access to the stadium. In the guest fan area, presentation of fan items or utensils of the home club is prohibited.
2. Provoking other spectators to hate or violence towards the referees, players or other persons is prohibited.
3. Visitors are prohibited from carrying, keeping and leaving the following items in the ARENA:
a. Racist, xenophobic and extreme right-wing propaganda material;
b. Advertising or commercial items as well as political or religious objects of all kinds, such as banners, signs, flyers, etc., without the express permission of the organiser;
c. Weapons or dangerous objects of any kind which are likely to cause or inflict injury; d. Objects that can be used as weapons or projectiles;
e. Laser pointers;
f. Gas spray cans; corrosive, highly flammable, colouring or health-damaging solid, liquid or gaseous substances or objects.
g. Bottles, cups, jugs, cans and other containers made of fragile, shattering or particularly hard material; it is allowed to carry up to 0.5 litres of alcohol-free drinks in soft packaging (such as “Tetra Pak”) for children up to 10 years of age;
h. Bulky items such as ladders, stools, chairs, boxes, suitcases;
i. Torches, fireworks, flares, Bengal lights, signal rockets and other pyrotechnic objects; sparklers;
j. Flags or transparent rods which are longer than 2.00 m or which have a diameter greater than 3 cm;
k. Alcoholic beverages; l. Drugs of any kind;
m. Mechanically or pneumatically operated noise instruments and launchers (VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH reserves the right to make exceptions);
n. All motion picture cameras (such as video cameras), all cameras with interchangeable lenses (such as SLR or system cameras), and medium- and large-format cameras.
4. For safety reasons (keeping escape and rescue routes free), carrying medically necessary walking aids is permitted only in the area of the seats and/or the specially designated areas. As per § 6 para. 3, the SES is entitled to assign an appropriate placement of a visitor who is using or carrying a walker with him. 5. Visitors are also prohibited from:
a. Uttering or disseminating racist, xenophobic or right-wing slogans, as well as committing extreme acts of any kind;
b. Climbing on or over buildings and fixtures not intended for general use, in particular façades, fences, walls, pitch enclosures, barriers, lighting systems, camera platforms, trees, planting areas, roofs and masts of any kind;
c. Entering areas off-limits to visitors (such as the pitch, the interior, the function spaces) without permission of the organiser or the police; throwing objects or liquids of any kind, especially onto the sports fields or visitor areas;
e. Lighting fires, bringing and burning/shooting fireworks, signal flares or other pyrotechnics, magnesium torches, smoke candles, Bengal lights, etc.;
f. Enabling the preparation and implementation of the prohibited actions described in para. 5 e through assistance (such as by helping to hide such actions with double holders or flags); g. Disguising oneself;
h. Painting, marking or applying glue to buildings and structures, fixtures, buildings and paths; i. Driving on the grounds of the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA with vehicles, selling goods and tickets of admission, selling or distributing printed matter, advertising brochures, etc., or collecting materials without the permission of VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH;
j. Relieving oneself outside the toilets and contaminating the grounds of the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA in other ways, in particular by littering;
k. Bringing animals to the ARENA.
6. Erecting, installing, fitting or storing objects, in particular the use of tents and caravans, as well as staying overnight within the area of application, are not permitted. Exceptions to this to are governed by VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH.
§ 8 - Prohibition of alcohol / serving of beverages
1. Sale and serving of alcoholic beverages are prohibited within the area of application of these stadium rules. Exceptions are governed by VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH in
coordination with the competent local security and law enforcement authorities.
§ 9 - Liability
1. Entering and using the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA is at your own risk.
2. Accidents or damage must be reported to VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH immediately. 3. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH is not liable for personal and property damage caused by third parties.
§ 10 - Violations
1. Anyone contravening the provisions of these rules of use can be expelled from the ARENA without compensation or refund of the fee for admission and without prejudice to any other rights of VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH. The same applies to persons who are intoxicated or under the influence of other substances negatively affecting free determination of will. 2. A stadium ban may be issued to persons who interfere with or endanger the safety and order of the event through their behaviour inside or outside the ARENA facilities in the context of a football game. This ban may be limited to the ARENA or effective nationwide in
accordance with any implementing directives from the DFB.
Stadium expulsions can also be pronounced by the SES or the police against groups of people if specific offences cannot be assigned to individuals, but the behaviour can be attributed to the group as a whole.
3. If it is suspected that people have committed a criminal offence or a misdemeanour, charges may be pressed.
4. If disorderly conduct results in the organiser having claims made against it for damage and/or fines by a third party, these claims are to be asserted against the person committing the disorderly conduct by way of recourse. The same applies to property damage for which the person who caused it is responsible.
5. Forbidden objects will be confiscated and, where they are not needed for a criminal investigation, returned upon request after the condition requiring confiscation has passed, or destroyed after a period of four weeks after the event at the expense of the visitor; VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH and/or the organiser are not liable for loss or damage of
confiscated objects. Excluded from return are items confiscated as per § 7 para. 3 letters a, c, i and l.
6. The rights of VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH as the party in possession of householder’s rights remain unaffected.
VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH Management
Sig. Sig. Sig.
Klaus Allofs Wolfgang Hotze Thomas Röttgermann Wolfsburg, November 2012
