Philips Stadion: PSV Eindhoven
By FLX (StadiumDB) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Have you ever wondered what the ‘PSV’ part of PSV Eindhoven stands for? Then wonder no longer, for we are here to help. It stands for Philips Sport Vereniging and is relevant to information about the club’s stadium because it gives you an insight into the club as a whole. The stadium was established as ‘Philips Sportpark’, a location for Philips employees to play sports on in 1910.
As you might expect the ground has undergone more than a couple of changes since it was built more than a century ago. At the time of writing it has been developed to the point that it holds a four-star rating from UEFA, just one off the top rating available. It has hosted European Championship group games in the past and the UEFA Cup final in 2006.
Stats
| Philips Stadion Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Opened | 1910 |
| Capacity | 35000 |
| Average Attendance | 33135 |
| Record Attendance | 35000 (PSV v Man United (2015)) |
| Pitch Size | 105 x 68 (7140) |
| Former Name | Philips Sportpark |
| Owner | PSV Eindhoven |
| Sponsor | Philips |
| Clubs Hosted | Philips Elftal, PSV Eindhoven, Jong PSV, Netherlands national team |
| First Fixture | Philips Elftal v Hollandia (15/01/1911) |
| PSV Eindhoven Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1913 |
| Nickname | Farmers, Red and whites |
| Club Mascot | Brainport Eindhoven |
| Rivals | Ajax, Feyenoord |
| Kit | Red & White Stripes (Home) / Purple & Green (Away) / Mint Green (Third) |
| Training Ground | De Herdgang |
| Shirt Sponsor | Philips |
| Team Owner | Foundation PSV Football |
| Record Goalscorer | Willy van der Kuijlen (305) |
| Record Appearances | Willy van der Kuijlen (508) |
Philips Stadion Photos
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0">CC BY 2.0]
By Lempkesfabriek (eigen werk
John Lord / Flickr.com
Philips Stadion Seating Plan and Where to Sit
The Philips Stadion has a unique appearance, part ‘bowl’ style with continuous seating and part ‘English’ style with separate sections, it has four areas best described by their geographical location. The North Stand looks like it’s one tier but it’s actually two separated by a row of executive seating. The South Stand runs along the side of the pitch like its Northern buddy but is the main stand in the ground, housing the dugouts, players’ tunnel and changing rooms. The East Stand is flanked by two corners that are sort of filled in but sort of aren’t giving it a strange look. Finally, The West Stand follows the design of the rest of the stadium – two tiers separated by executive seating.
PSV Eindhoven Ticket Prices
The Netherlands as a country introduced a club card system in about 2009 that means it is mandatory for supporters attending games to have a PSV Club Card. It allows PSV fans to buy tickets for the games at over 400 locations throughout the country and it also improves safety issues. This is not necessary for supporters from abroad, however, who can buy special ‘packages’ for games, costing either €55.00, €90.00, or €120.00.
How To Get PSV Eindhoven Tickets
As well as through the club’s website, tickets are available over the phone or by email. For Club Card members there are more than 400 options of where to buy tickets from around the country.
Where to Buy
Getting To Philips Stadion
Getting to Philips Stadion isn’t too complicated, with all of the usual methods you’d want to use being readily available to you. Here’s some info on each:
Train – Getting the train from St. Pancras to Eindhoven will take about five and a half hours. You’ll travel from London to Brussels before heading to Rotterdam. From there you’ll get an internal Dutch train to Eindhoven. The ground itself is about ten minutes walk from the city’s Central Station.
Bus – Bus numbers 16, 18, 401 and 402 all stop by the stadium.
Car – It really depends on where you’re travelling from, of course, but from Amsterdam, for example, you’ll take the A2 until you get to the A58 then the N2. Take exit 30 and follow the signs.
By Air – The wittily named Eindhoven Airport is the closest to the city and is about 10km away.
Taxi – A taxi from Central Station to Philips Stadion will take just over five minutes and should cost in the region of €7.
Parking Near Philips Stadion
There is a parking garage on level -3 of the stadium.
Useful Resources
Philips Stadion Hotels
Eindhoven is a lovely city with loads of great hotels. Here are some of our favourites:
Queen Hotel Eindhoven - £40+
Inntel Hotels Art Eindhoven - £50+
Van der Valk Hotel Eindhoven - £65+
Pubs and Bars Near Philips Stadion
Eindhoven, like pretty much all of the Netherlands, is a lovely place to go for a drink. Here are some of the best bars you might like to check out:
Drinkers Pub
De Wildeman
O'Sheas Irish Pub
Facilities
Philips Stadion offers all of the usual facilities you’d expect to find at a stadium belonging to one of the world’s top-teams. As well as great views from pretty much everywhere there are also the standard places to buy a drink or a bite to eat.
Hospitality
There are a huge amount of executive seats throughout the stadium as well as thirteen hospitality suites. If you like to watch matches in comfort than there will definitely be an option that ticks your boxes.
Private Hire
The club is extremely proud of its stadium and with good reason. It’s one of the most attractive grounds in the Netherlands and it is able to host meetings, conferences, classes, seminars, presentations or even parties. Get in touch with the club for more info.
Stadium Tours & Museum
Tours of Philips Stadion last for an hour and run every day apart from European match days, the day before European match days, Sundays and Dutch public holidays. They take in all of the usual sights of a top-class stadium, including the dressing rooms, the executive area and the Director’s Box. Your tour ticket also includes access to the club museum, though you can visit the museum without having to do the tour.
A combined tour and museum ticket costs €14.00 for adults and €12.00 for children from 4 to 14. If you’d just like to see the museum, however, that will set you back €7.50 or €5 respectively. The museum is open from 10am until 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays. It’s closed on public holidays and Sundays and shuts four hours before a game on a match day.
About PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging translates as Philips Sports Union that exactly what it is, with PSV Eindhoven being the association football part of the sports club. The club plays its games in the Eredivisie, the top-flight of Dutch football, and has ever since the league’s inception in 1956. PSV are joined by Ajax and Feyenoord as being the ‘big three’ clubs of Dutch football, dominating the game in the Netherlands since it was played there.
The club’s history stems from when employees of Philips, the Dutch technology company, wanted somewhere to play sport. Since then they have gone on to win 24 Eredivisie titles, 9 KNVB cups and 12 Johan Cruijff Schaals. They club also won the UEFA Cup in the 1977-1978 season and the European Cup exactly a decade later. Numerous world-class players have started their careers at the club including Ronald Koeman, Ruud Gullit, Ruud can Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben.
Philips Stadion History
The first wooden stand was erected at the stadium in 1916 and since then it has gone from strength to strength. Extensive renovations were carried out firstly in the 1970s and then in the 1990s. None of this would have been possible without the vision of Gerrit Jan de Jongh, an urban planner who foresaw an employee village based around numerous sporting areas. It was initially named Philips Sportpark and the company formed a football team for its younger employees that they called Philips Elftal.
Elftal played at the ground for two years until they were disbanded and PSV Eindhoven were formed in their stead. The ground didn’t get a name change to Philips Stadion until 1990, around the same time that a decision was made to renovate the whole stadium. The renovations allowed the ground to host some UEFA European Championship matches in 2000 when the tournament was split over Belgium and the Netherlands. Portugal beat England 3-2 there in the Group A game, Sweden drew 0-0 with Turkey and Italy beat Sweden 2-0 in two Group B games.
Future Developments
Plans were introduced in 2010 to increase the stadium’s capacity when the Netherlands was bidding to host the 2018 World Cup. When the bid failed the plans were shelved and have not yet been reestablished.