Ernst-Happel-Stadion - Austria National Team Stadium Guide

Known as the Praterstadion until 1992 when it was renamed in honour of the famous Austrian Manager Ernst Happel, the stadium was built between over a period of two years between 1929-1931 in anticipation of the second Workers’ Summer Olympiad to be held in Vienna. With the Austrian Republic less than a decade old and still very much in its infancy, the sports stadium construction project was seen as an important symbol of national pride despite being designed by a German Architect, Otto Ernst Schweizer.

With the outbreak of World War II and Austria annexed by the National Socialist Party, the stadium was used initially for military purposes such as barracks, but eventually came to be used for much more evil purposes when it was was used as a prison to detain over one thousand Polish born Jews. By 1944, a year before the war officially ended, the stadium had long been damaged by bombs and was not fit for anything, least of all football.

With Europe beginning to recover coupled with the rise in popularity of football, the stadium was expanded in 1956 to a capacity of 92,708 with the conversion to all-seating in the mid 1980s. Now suitable for the biggest of footballing occasions the ground hosted three further European Cup finals in 1987, 1990 and 1995. This perhaps made amends for the 1970 cup winners cup final which saw Manchester City narrowly beat Gornik Zabrze 2-1 in a match which was attended by just 7,968 people due to heavy rain.

Continuing the trend of being known for hosting European and International fixtures rather than domestic matches, Ernst-Happel Stadium was chosen to be the final venue for the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament which was co-hosted by Switzerland. After undergoing €40 million euros worth of renovations the ground hosted three group matches,  three knock-out matches and the final between Germany and Spain which latter one one nil courtesy of a Torres goal.

View of Ernst-Happel-Stadion

Below is a seating plan of Austria National Team's Ernst-Happel-Stadion:

Ernst-Happel Stadion is comprised of four stands: North, East, South and West.

Click the thumbnails above to enlarge an image of each stand and to read a more detailed description of each part of the Stadium.

Away fans are usually housed within the south-east corner of the stadium within Sector F which is the one with clearly marked by the use of yellow seats.

For international matches involving Austria the standard allocation appears to be around 3,000 tickets which fills the third tier up, however for league matches with smaller attendances the traveling supporters might be brought closer to the pitch.

Austria National Team Club Shop

Rapid Wien operate two fan shops in addition to their official online store which is known as the Rapid Shop. The largest of the two is located at StadionCenter with the address of Olympia Place 2, 1020, Vienna.

Opening Hours

• Monday – Wednesday: 9.00 am – 7.00 pm
• Thursday – Friday: 9.00 am – 8.00 pm
• Saturday: 9.00 am – 6.00 pm

Stadium Tour

As SK Rapid Wien are only temporary residents at Ernst-Happel they have no interest in becoming its tour operators! It doesn’t appear as if the stadium’s operators, the city of Vienna conduct tours either which is certainly a shame.

Ticket Prices

Tickets to see Rapid Vienna in action can either be purchased in person at the stadium’s box office in the days leading up to the match, before kick-off or in advance via the club’s online booking facility where you can print from home.

Bundesliga Prices

• Sector A: €15.00
• Sector B: €32.00
• Sector C: €22.00
• Sector D: €22.00
• Sector E: €28.00

For more information feel free to phone the club on +43 (0) 1 72743-0
 or send an email to [email protected].

Matchday Travel

Ernst-Happel is located approximately 3.5 km east of the historic city centre next to the Danube River and Prater Park with the resulting walk likely to take the average person around 45 minutes by foot.

As SK Rapid Wien are only temporary residents at Ernst-Happel they have no interest in becoming its tour operators! It doesn’t appear as if the stadium’s operators, the city of Vienna conduct tours either which is certainly a shame.

Tickets to see Rapid Vienna in action can either be purchased in person at the stadium’s box office in the days leading up to the match, before kick-off or in advance via the club’s online booking facility where you can print from home.

Bundesliga Prices

• Sector A: €15.00
• Sector B: €32.00
• Sector C: €22.00
• Sector D: €22.00
• Sector E: €28.00

For more information feel free to phone the club on +43 (0) 1 72743-0
 or send an email to [email protected].

Ernst-Happel is located approximately 3.5 km east of the historic city centre next to the Danube River and Prater Park with the resulting walk likely to take the average person around 45 minutes by foot.

The stadium’s address for satnav is as follows:

• Meierei Street 7, 1020 Vienna, Austria

Car Parks

There are a moderate number of parking spaces towards the south-west of the stadium but assuming they are available, you would need to travel there very early on matchday. You could always leave your car across the river at Wien Stadlau and catch the U-Bahn four stops westbound.

Wien Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station of Vienna, and was built in 2012 to link all four rail lines going in and out of the city: North, East, South and West.

Public Transport of Ernst-Happel-Stadion

The city is served by Vienna International Airport which lies just 18km southeast of the city within the small town of Schwechat. Upon landing you can easily travel into the city via the S-Bahn commuter rail service for a few euros or a shuttle bus service if you prefer.

Some low cost airlines actually advertise Bratislava Airport 54km east in Slovakia as being “Vienna” so double check when booking! You can travel from here via train in 1 hour so work out if the time is worth your money.

The closest hotel to Ernst-Happel Stadion is the Hilton Danube Waterfront, however with a large city on your doorstep it doesn’t make much sense to be isolated 3.5km away from the centre. There are lots of affordable options around north of Preter Park such as Hotel Vienna, Hotel Cristall and Meininger Hotel.