Resting in Peace, But Close to the Pitch
July 21, 2006
Just how much peace those resting in Hamburg's new fan cemetery really get is open to debate. But there's no better way for 500 Hamburg soccer fans to bear out their undying love for the team than to leave their earthly remains buried about 15 meters (50 feet) from the stadium's main entrance.
"For a large number of people, it's important to be close to the club after their lives are over," the club's deputy chairman Christian Reichert told Reuters news service. "The cemetery will have the look of a small, open stadium."
Though team officials don't expect anyone to be sent to an early grave, competition for the burial plots among the northern German port city's 42,000-member fan club is expected to be fierce.
Germany's strict burial laws forbid people from finding their eternal peace alongside the very pitch their heroes play on, as some of the English Premiership's Everton fans enjoy. But the Bundesliga team's supporters can choose to spend 25 years near the stadium in an ash-filled urn for 2,500 euros ($3,165), a single grave for 8,000 euros or a two-person plot for 12,500 euros.
The 70,000 euro cemetery is scheduled to be finished in September and will include a memorial to the team's old stadium and stone honoring past Hamburg SV stars.
But the idea of surviving fans laying blue and white flowers on a grave before heading into the stadium for an afternoon of beer, sausages and soccer doesn't thrill everyone.
"Some people, especially from churches, have said that it's not appropriate," Reichert said. "It's not for everyone but a lot of people are interested. Even if only 1 percent of our members take a place, that would be enough."