TSV HAVELSE
SEPTEMBER 2021
Founded: Aug 5th, 1912
Club Members: 932
Nickname: Pelikans
Coach: Rüdiger Ziehl
Captain: Tobias Fölster
Landespokal Niedersachsen Winner: 2
Website: www.tsv-havelse.de
Based in the Hannover suburb of Havelse, TSV's origins can be traced back to a long forgotten club called FC Pelikan Havelse who were formed in August 1912 when 13 young men scraped together the 7.50 Reichsmarks needed to buy a football which happened to be made by a manufacturer called 'Pelikan' - hence the name. Early progress was faltering however and no sooner had the newcomers begun life in the local amateur levels; football, and by proxy the club, was brought to a shuddering halt with the advent of World War I in 1914. As Germany struggled to rebuild itself after the conflict, breathing life back into an embryonic football club shattered by war and hyperinflation proved too much of a hurdle to overcome and by 1923 the pre-war FC Pelikan Havelse were no more.
In 1929, a local gymnastics club called TSV Havelse was formed and its members were joined four years later by the remaining 'Pelikans' when a football department was added to the association. That same year, the footballers rented a field from a farmer for 100 Reichsmarks and built a ground which until 2000 was officially known as TSV Kampfbahn an der Hannoverschen Straße (now referred to as the Wilhelm Langrehr Stadion). In 1947, the club was renamed 'TSV Havelse Marienwerder' but reverted back to TSV Havelse five years later before becoming embroiled in scandal when, in an era when professional sport was considered an anathema, they were kicked out of the old Amateurliga Niedersachsen-West in 1956 for "violations against the amatuer statute".
In 1975, having spent their history up to that point as a largely unknown local side playing in Hannoverian football circles, Wilhelm Langrehr became club president and one of the new man's first acts was to install former Hannover 96 and West German international Hans Siemensmeyer as coach. Within a few seasons, he had taken TSV from the Berzirksliga to the third-tier Oberliga Nord; and qualified for the DFB-Pokal for the first time in 1984 where they held Bundesliga club VfL Bochum to a 2-2 draw. They went down 0-4 in the replay but, sensing the injustice of giving Bundesliga clubs a second bite of the cherry against footballing minnows, following this match the German FA introduced penalty shoot-outs to decide drawn cup ties in an attempt to write more David vs Goliath fairytales.
In 1986, former TSV player Volker Finke, who would go on to become the longest serving manager in German professional football following a 16 year spell at SC Freiburg, became head coach and after narrowly missing out on promotion in 1989, led the club through the play-offs a year later where a last-gasp 3-2 win over Wuppertaler SV secured Bundesliga.2 football for the first time. Life in the second-tier was brief however and following an immediate relegation back to the Oberliga Nord and Finke's departure, a decline in the club's fortunes saw them playing in the sixth-tier Landesliga Hannover by 2006.
After recovering their football composure and rising back up the leagues, the club benefitted from a bit of good fortune when a third-place finish in the COVID-19 shortened Regionalliga Nord 2020-21 season was enough to secure a place in the promotion play-off after the top two teams - SC Weiche Flensburg and Werder Bremen II - didn't apply for 3. Liga licenses. A 2-0 aggregate win over Regionalliga Bayern champions 1.FC Schweinfurt then saw TSV Havelse achieve promotion to the 3. Liga for the first time.
GROUND DETAILS
Ground Name: HDI Arena
Built: 1952 - 1954
Year Opened: 1954
Capacity: 49,000 (8,000 standing)
Executive Boxes: 29
Business Seats: 1,241
Construction Costs: €66m
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Running Track: No
Floodlights: 1,500 lux
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Pitch Size: 105m x 68m
Website: www.hdi-arena.de
Grounds:
TSV Kampfbahn (1929 - 2000) +
Wilhelm Langreher Stadion (2000 - 2021) *
HDI Arena (2021 - )
+ TSV Kampfbahn an der Hannoverschen Straße
* Stadium Renamed
TSV Havelse call the Wilhelm Langrehr Stadion home but with a capacity of just 3,500, it falls well short of 3.Liga stadium requirements. The Pelikans will therefore play their home matches at the HDI Arena in nearby Hannover during the 2021-22 season.
Renting the HDI Arena will cost TSV approximately €100,000 over the season but it will be money well spent as it enables the club to satisfy the third-tier requirements of at least a 10,000 capacity, undersoil heating and an adequate floodlight system. Interestingly, if the ongoing COVID pandemic means that spectators aren't allowed in stadiums then TSV could still end up playing some of their home matches in their Wilhelm Langrehr Stadion.
For general information however regarding Ground Details, Getting There & Away and Food & Drink Options at the HDI Arena, please visit our Hannover 96 guide here.
BUYING TICKETS
Ticket Office:
Website: www.ticket-onlineshop.com
Telephone: +49 (0) 180 6991112
Email: Contact Form via Website
Average Attendance:
2020-2021: N/A *
2019-2020: 678 (Regionalliga Nord) *
2018-2019: 542 (Regionalliga Nord)
2017-2018: 499 (Regionalliga Nord)
2016-2017: 646 (Regionalliga Nord)
* Season affected by COVID pandemic
The club website and online ticket shop are both in German only but fortunately for non-German speakers, Google Chrome’s translation feature makes booking tickets a very straightforward process. Through the club's ticketing partner Eventimsports you can have your tickets sent by post (within Germany only and up to six days before a match), to your smartphone as an E-ticket or made available as a Print@Home option. You can also collect tickets at the stadium box office which opens two hours before kick-off if you prefer.
With a 49,000 capacity at the HDI Arena and TSV expecting around 4,000 fans per home match (they averaged only 678 in the Regionalliga Nord last season !), it's a sure fire bet that no-one will be asking landlord and 96's owner Martin Kind where the 'Ausverkauft ' (sold out) signs are kept.
There's no ABC-tiered approach to ticketing and only the main stand (Osttribüne) is in use for Havelse's matches (no terraces). Seats during the 2021-22 season will cost €19-28.
PLEASE NOTE: All information in this section is subject to change due to COVID regulations. Please refer to the club website for the latest ticket information.
Expected Ticket Availability
OTHER CLUBS IN THE AREA
BUNDESLIGA: DSC Arminia Bielefeld, VfL Wolfsburg
BUNDESLIGA 2: FC St. Pauli, Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Holstein Kiel, SV Werder Bremen
3.LIGA: 1.FC Magdeburg, Eintracht Braunschweig, VfL Osnabrück