DSC Arminia Bielefeld have launched a special box for people with autism at its home venue, the SchücoArena. The Bundesliga 2 side is the first German club to offer such a special service.

The club has converted two panorama boxes at the North stand into a lounge and snoezelen room, which offers space for up to five autistics who can enjoy the action under ward on matchdays. The lounge has beanbags and snoezelen toys to create a relaxed atmosphere. The snoezelen room, a soundproofed room with special light and music elements, serves as an ideal place to calm down in case of a sensory overload. The room does also feature a heatable water bed.

Arminia Bielefeld is taking a pioneering role in Germany with this exceptional project, while similar facilities have been successfully established in England in the past.

The project at Arminia Bielefeld’s SchücoArena has been realized with the financial and technical support of various companies namely Elektro Fastabend, Karl H. Schäfer, Abratec GmbH and Rockcafé Bielefeld.

“I think it is sensational that we were able to complete such a project. I would like to thank the people around the club, all the volunteers and especially Jörg Winkelmann and Peter Heckmann, who are responsible in our club for the needs of handicapped people,” Arminia Bielefeld’s president Hans-Jürgen Laufer said. “The honest and spontaneous willingness of the mentioned companies to participate financially is phenomenal.”

“I’m overwhelmed with joy that Arminia Bielefeld is once again taking a leading role in helping handicapped people as the club has become the first Bundesliga club to launch a lounge and snoezelen room for autistics,” Jörg Winkelmann, Commissioner for the Disabled, DSC Arminia Bielefeld, stated. “I’m grateful to the club and all the sponsors that this project has been realised on such a short period.”

The new special box for people with autism will be inaugurated today, July 29, when DSC Arminia Bielefeld play host to FC St. Pauli on Matchday 1 of the 2019/20 Bundesliga 2 season.