FOREST AWAY: Sturm Graz, Europa League Match 4, Thursday 6th November – Fan Guide

I have to keep casually reminding myself that I’m off to see Forest play in Austria. Seville was a tremendous, barmy experience and one I shall never ever forget but this was always the trip I was looking forward to the most. Somewhere a bit more off the beaten track that feels a bit less like some epic pre-season tour. I sat in the stadium before kick-off against Betis and I don’t think I could quite get my head around it. I have a feeling that this three-day hop in Vienna and Graz will allow it to hit home that these are incredibly days we are experiencing.

I can’t help but think too that our dismal domestic campaign has so far made our Europa League adventure feel a little peculiar, a welcome relief in some ways for sure, but our efforts to qualify for European football last season seem so long ago now. The second half showing against Manchester United provided some sizeable glimpses of the buccaneering exploits of the class of 2024/25 but a glance at the table, no matter how long there is to go, shows you very clearly that we have fallen a long way.

One thing I have definitely enjoyed so far is putting these away guides together, the second issue of which you will find directly below. I am again grateful to PC Simon Travell and the wider Nottinghamshire Police team who have shared their findings from a previous scouting mission to Graz and were only too happy to feed information directly into this guide. A word too for Billy Thompson and Will d’Hooghe at NFFC who, along with a representative from the Supporters Trust, I joined on a call this last week as logistics and planning already starts to turn to Utrecht and Braga. Both have also shared information which I have used here, along with certain information extracted from the club’s official guide which I recommend you take the time to read.

I had a lot of positive comments after the Seville edition and I hope you find this one equally enlightening and informative, whether you are travelling to Graz or not. As I said previously, it’s difficult to try and pinpoint specifics for places I have never been to before but with aforementioned assistance and a good dose of my own research I have hopefully made this a useful tool for those planning their own trip to Austria to follow the Garibaldi Reds.

There will be a time in the coming days when I am stood with big smile on my face in an Austrian bar, probably belting out a song or two, and I’ll try and think to myself how fucking marvellous it is what we are experiencing. Whatever comes next, let’s make sure these are always days to remember.

While I was out in Seville, I experienced a lovely moment when I received a picture of my ten-year-old son swinging his top around his head in the aftermath of us going 2-1 up against Betis. I was the exact same age when watching us from home make it past Malmo, Auxerre and Lyon and I still remember the giddy excitement of those days. So whether you are part of the 1,400 or so making the trek to Graz or watching back home, I hope there are brilliant moments ahead for us all.

Up the Europa Reds.

 

AWAY DAY No. 8: Sturm Graz, Europa League, Thursday 6^th November, 5:45pm KO (6:45pm Austrian time)

Last Visit: It will be a first visit to the Merkur Arena but not the first time Forest have played in Graz at their old stadium which was on the same site before being rebuilt in the mid 1990s. Then, the Reds overcame our hosts over two legs in the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup in 1984. Forest won 1-0 at the City Ground but were taken to extra-time in Graz before a Colin Walsh penalty in extra-time earned passage through to the semi-final stage.

Famous Visit: As above!

 

General / Useful Information

~ Be wary of changes to border security across the EU and Schengen area which came into force last month. Quoting from The Guardian, ‘The system means most non-EU citizens will have to register their biometric information at the border. Travellers’ faces will have to be photographed and fingerprints scanned before they are allowed to enter into Europe’s Schengen area. The system will eventually replace passports being stamped by border officials.’

While there is some leeway for countries adopting this, it is likely this will be in place when landing in Austria or surrounding countries. As I understand it, the first time a passenger arrives somewhere following these new procedures having been implemented, this registering of biometric data will be required. It may lead to some delays which might be of more concern if landing on the day of the game and needing to catch a connection to Graz from Vienna or wherever. Hopefully it isn’t a noticeable difference but just consider getting a march on after disembarking the plane.

~ There is a strict requirement to show your passport to collect your tickets from the designated location (more on this below), but I have had it confirmed via NFFC / Nottinghamshire Police that there is currently no requirement for a passport to be shown at the ground.

~ In the unfortunate event you get into some kind of difficulty then hopefully there will be help on hand. Nottinghamshire Police and NFFC will have a presence in Graz. The NFFC Supporter Liaison Officer is Alex Tatner who can be contacted on 07729 090 881 or [email protected]. The club recommends that you save this number to your phone ahead of travelling to Austria.

~ The club operated a successful Whatsapp channel which worked well for updated while out in Seville and they have advised that fans travelling to Graz join.

~ While certainly not acting in any official role I’ve agreed to be the nominated fan representative in the UEFA information documents that Nottinghamshire Police submitted. I don’t believe this has any specific role attached to it but I’ll help wherever I can, or at least try and get you in contact with people who can. A number of people asked me out in Seville if anything had come of this role but it didn’t thankfully and nor do I expect it to, but feel free to keep it in mind. I’d suggest the best option is to e-mail us at [email protected] or DM us on social media, preferably Twitter / X should you need to.

~ Travel insurance – don’t forget to sort this; I’m not an expert in it but you can shop around a little and can also look at getting cover which lasts over a certain period which can then cover the further games. I’ve paid around £21 for cover that lasts me an entire year.

~ There will be a difference with the temperatures we enjoyed in Seville, but a quick check suggests that this won’t be anything too cold as it stands. The forecast is for 13° across Wednesday and Thursday, but be wary of temperatures dropping later in the evening.

 

Getting to Graz

I’m aware of travelling Reds using a few different routes to reach Graz, but as Graz airport isn’t really a big for commercial airlines to fly to I gather many are looking at Vienna, Zagreb (Croatia) and Bratislava (Slovakia). Three of us are landing into Vienna on Wednesday afternoon and will spend the evening there before departing on the 09:58 train which arrives into Graz at 12:33.

I’m sure most have got their travel from their respective airports organised by now but if you haven’t then do try and get it sorted ASAP. We used Home – ÖBB for booking our trains, but be warned services from Vienna take around 3 hours.

Being on top of your travel plans will be even more important if landing on the day of the game and with the 6:45pm K.O. One positive is that you can travel direct from the airport at Vienna to Graz.

Collecting Match Tickets

The designated collection points is the Radisson Hotel, Annestraße 67, 8020 Graz. This is very close to the train station which should make things easier when arriving into Graz. See the enclosed map below which shows the precise location of the hotel.

The entry and exit points, Forest advise, will be on the side of the hotel next to the Annestraße / Eggenberger Gürtel bus stop. Paper tickets will be handed over, with supporters strictly required to only collect their individual ticket and show their passport as identification.

Tickets can be collected at the following times:

Wednesday 5^th November: 12pm – 11pm

Thursday 6^th November (Matchday): 9am – 4pm

I have been contacted by a number of people who are concerned that they may not arrive into Graz until very close to or potentially beyond the 4pm cut-off point. I know the club facilitated a later opening to allow for some later collections in Seville. They also advise that, if necessary, they may be able to issue tickets at the stadium but this will only be done in extreme circumstances and should certainly not be relied upon. If you have any concerns around your own plans then feel free to contact me directly or the Forest Supporter Liaison Officer as per the details above.

As noted above, there are currently no requirements for your passport to be needed to gain access to the stadium as it was in Seville.

 

The Merkur Arena – About the Stadium and How to Get There

The Merkur Arena was built in the late 1990s and was originally named the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium, changing in 2005 due to concerns about Schwarzenegger’s actions while governor of California.

The stadium is shared with Grazer AK, a second division Austrian club.

According to the Sturm Graz website, the stadium holds 16,364. Forest have been allocated 1,349 which is greater than the 5% minimum Graz were obliged to provide. Forest supporters will be accommodated in Blocks 26 & 27.

The stadium is around 2 miles south from the centre of Graz. Public transport seems a bit more straightforward than it was in Seville; the Number 4 tram service from the city centre takes you to the stadium as the enclosed tram map shows. As noted in the ‘Pubs & Bars’ section below, there is a direct tram from the designated Hauptplatz area which is the same Number 4 line.

There is also a dedicated train station at the stadium called ‘Graz Liebenau / Murpark’ which can be reached from the main station at Graz. If I’m reading it right the trams depart from here too and are a 24-minute journey, but the trains (S-Bahn Train 3) only take 10 minutes and there are services at 16:07, 16:37, 16:56, 17:07 and 17:37. A ‘Short-Term Ticket’ is €3.20 but a 24-hour ticket can be obtained for €7. I suspect there might be another escort back to town afterwards so there might not be an opportunity to get the train or tram back, but I could be wrong. The trams from the station, however, are not direct to the stadium and you will need to change onto the Number 4 line.

The away section is to one side of the stand behind the goal but will curve slightly into the stand to our right, as shown on the images kindly provided to me by Nottinghamshire Police from their recent visit to the stadium. Netting will again be in place but you will see the away section is also enclosed by Perspex screens. The seats closest to the dividing screen close to the goal are usually not sold but, in order to maximise the allocation available, will be occupied by Forest supporters. The view does not appear great but hopefully might be better than the pictures suggest, especially if the screens are cleaned as has been requested.

Those who were in attendance in Seville may have been caught up in some unfortunate scenes at the turnstile with Spanish Police not handling the crowds particularly well and only letting through small pockets of fans at a time. While it is hoped this will not be repeated in Graz, and the smaller away allocation might aid this, it does seem to make a lot of sense to arrive early and get yourself through the turnstile. Plus, and I’m not certain on this, we may be able to experience the novelty of actually having a beer while watching the game.

 

PUBS & BARS

With the nature of this trip and the long connection into Graz, I expect like us many are stopping the night before in Vienna or other relatively nearby cities. I haven’t included drinking options for these but I am told Vienna is a tremendous place to visit with lots of bierkellers and fantastic bars. If you are about on Wednesday you may find us sampling a few.

In terms of Graz, I am told that Forest fans should not expect the same type of attempted directive from police on where to drink and there should, as things stand, not be any restrictions on Forest fans being able to drink across Graz. There is a designated supporter area at Hauptplatz which is the main town square, but supporters will not be cajoled into heading towards the stadium at a certain time and will instead be free to make their own way.

In their own guide, Forest have specified Flann O’Brien’s as one venue which will welcome Forest supporters, but I have had three others also recommended by Nottinghamshire Police:

~ O’Carolan’s (very close to Flann O’Brien’s)

~ Falcara

~ Molly Malone’s

All are within the vicinity of Hauptplatz, although I’d imagine many will also want to avoid travelling all the way to Austria to drink exclusively in Irish bars! A handy website called ‘The European Bar Guide’ that was sent over to me by Matt Mitchell offers a few pointers. I hadn’t been aware of this before but it’s a very comprehensive website which aims to recommend ‘Europe’s greatest pubs & bars.’ Each venue is given a rating out of ten and Graz has nine locations which have made it into the guide.

One of the listed places that looks really good and is close to Hauptplatz is Hops Craft Beer Pub. The descriptions from visitors state, ‘One of the focal points of Graz’s city centre ‘pub’ nightlife and one of the closest things to a pub you’ll find in Austria outside of Irish bars.’ Another place that looks interesting is the Bier Baron but this is a little further out from that area of bars around Hauptplatz.

I’ve purposely focussed on this one area of the city because it seems to be an ideal location for Forest fans to gather and is broadly in the right direction of the stadium, but there are going to be lots of other options across Graz, particularly around the train station and perhaps down the river. I should add that it seems pretty simple to use the tram network to link between the station / ticket collection point and the rest of the city, including Hauptplatz and the stadium, but if time affords then a walk around Graz should throw up plenty of brilliant sights and drinking spots.

As with Seville, my expectation is that it should be fairly straightforward to find places to drink across the city but hopefully the above will provide some guidance on just some of the options to drink both before and after the game.

 

 

If you are travelling over then I hope you have a safe and enjoyable journey. I’ll see you there.

You Reds

Matt