The Amsterdam ArenA

How to find the Amsterdam ArenA

From all other World League cities this should be really easy. From Barcelona, London and Edinburgh simply jump on a plane to Schiphol Airport, and remember to book a hotel for the Saturday night. Trains run right from the airport straight to central station very regularly. Coming from the UK you could also come by the Channel Tunnel or by ferry. Scotland fans, I've heard good things about the new Newcastle - IJmuiden ferry crossing. Coming from Germany is even easier, just jump on a train and head for Amsterdam.

There are two possible public transport routes to consider so I'll deal with them separately, but first a word from our sponsor, me. If you want to meet up with us before the game then go to the Bijlmer metro station at about 17:30 and we should be hanging around there somewhere, possibly even in one of the bars. See this page for more meeting instructions. A note about buying beer in the stadium is at the end of this text. 

Find Amsterdam Central Station and climb on board a metro going to Gein. Get off this metro at station Strandvliet and the huge concrete edifice on your right hand side is the ArenA. Welcome. Alternatively if you want to go to the pub first go to Bijlmer station, but be warned this is an extra strip on your strippenkaart ( strip ticket ) so you may not want to do this. 

Take any train that will pass through ( and stop ) at Duivendrecht station instead of going in the direction of Amsterdam central station.. This will be the third stop that the train makes. The others being WTC-Zuid and RAI station. From here you can either walk to the station, or if you are feeling real lazy you can then take the metro one stop, in the direction of Gein to station Strandvliet. The huge concrete erection ( fnarr, fnarr ) on your right hand side is the ArenA. You've made it, get a beer and enjoy the game, but not too much 'cos I want the Admirals to win. 

If you insist, but be warned the Dutch Police have got it in for drink driving and the limit is two SMALL glasses of beer, so be careful, you've been warned. After last season I heard several reports of alcohol checks outside the stadium and more than one of the glasses available inside is enough to put you over the limit. 

From Germany: If coming to Amsterdam via the A12 and then A2 it is all signposted, just follow them. If you're coming along the A1 then leave the A1 and take the A9 when you can. Then from the A9 get onto the A2 in the direction of Amsterdam and follow the signposts. 

From Rotterdam ( Hoek van Holland and Europoort ferries ) From the A4 take the junction onto the A9 in the direction of Utrecht. Then when you reach the A2 take the A2 in the direction Amsterdam and follow the signs. 

From IJmuiden ( ferry from Newcastle ) on the A9 in the direction to Amsterdam, follow this until you reach the A2 and proceed in the direction of Amsterdam and follow the signs. 

From Barcelona ? - get in touch with us ( via the feedback link above) and tell us which road you'll be on entering The Netherlands and we'll tell you how to get to this omnipotent A2. 

ArenA Cards - A Visiting Fan's Hell

As anyone who has ever been to the ArenA will tell you: there is no cash used within the ArenA. Instead you have to buy a Phone Card type thing from a machine or from one of the wandering vendors which you can then use to purchase beer, food and that sort of thing. Its a real pain in the arse - even for the Admirals fans. Of course you can't bring drinks into the stadium so you have a captive market. My advice is that if you want beer / food is to gang up together with a couple of friends and buy a small value card and use it until it has run out. I have been told that once purchased they are always valid but I have no official confirmation of this. There is in fact a buy back scheme for unused cards, but you'd have to walk around to one end of the first ring promenade to find the office.

Prices are high, a € 25 ArenA card will run out quickly after a few rounds. Get your food after the game in town, it's cheaper, better and you won't risk missing a touchdown.

Note and Disclaimer 

If you are coming to a game in Amsterdam you can always drop us a line and we can try to arrange to meet, either before or after the game depending on what's going on. Oh, by the way, whilst we've tried to make this stuff accurate we may have gotten something wrong, sorry. And of course the Amsterdam Admirals and the World League have absolutely nothing to do with this bullshit, it is all unlicensed and unsupported and unofficial and blah de blah de blah.