Häcker-Wiehenstadion

The Häcker-Wiehenstadion sits quietly in Schwenningdorf, a district of Rödinghausen. The ground replaced the old Sportplatz after a two-year build, initially bearing the name Wiehenstadion until local kitchen manufacturers stepped in to finance the project and take the naming rights.

What defines the place is not its size, but the tension it creates during cup runs. The capacity is 3,140, a figure that looks respectable until a major opponent arrives. The DFB regulations for larger clubs are strict, and when SV Rödinghausen drew Dynamo Dresden or Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal, the ground simply did not have enough seats. A sell-out crowd gathered for the Bayern fixture, watching a game they could not enter.

The surface is natural grass, kept in order by local contractors. The stadium was built to host these games, and for most weekends, it does so without fuss.