Watching the Football in Lecce
Lecce has an excellent football team called 'US Lecce’ (Unione Sportiva Lecce) and they play in their signature yellow and red stripes, for which they’re nicknamed the giallorossi. Lecce play at Stadio Via del Mare about every other week during the football season (September - May). At the time of writing US Lecce are in ‘Serie B’ which is the second tier of Italian Football (Serie A being the top/best). NB They have now been promoted to Serie A so prices may not be the same. I will update this guide in due course.
Tickets can be bought from any of the shops below in Lecce, but make sure you bring all your documents with you (passport etc) and decide where you want to sit (see guide to Stadio Via del Mare below) before you get to the shop. Prices vary depending on where you sit in the stadium and usually there are plenty of seats available (though tickets may be harder to come by once Lecce are in Serie A).
Shops that sell tickets to US Lecce football/soccer matches:
Buy Tickets online at the official vendor Vivaticket here (if you can’t work out how to use the super bugy website don’t worry… you won’t be the only one. You can always head to one of the shops below)
NB I always go here, they’re super nice and they also speak some English if your Italian isn’t great
Guide to Stadio Via del Mare
(sometimes called Stadio Ettore Giardiniero)
Stadio Via del Mare is a two tiered open circular concrete bowl that is divided into four stands. The top tier is called the ‘superiore’ (Upper Stand) and the bottom the ‘inferiore’ (lower stand). Only one of the stands (Tribuna Centrale) is covered. The current capacity is 25k, although they’ve had nearly 40 thousand in there in the past I believe.
Is there food/drink and what can you bring inside?
You can buy beers, soft drinks, bottles of water and hot dogs inside the stadium, but the queues are usually very long. When you get to one of the little kiosks, look for the till (cashier, ‘cassa’ in Italian) first and queue there. They will sell you tokens, and you then use those tokens to grab whatever you like from the relevant server.
You can bring in any food you like, so if you want a half time snack I highly recommend being organised and picking up a panino/rustico/piece of pizza in town before you come. The only drink permitted is a bottle of water without the lid (so if thrown it won’t be dangerous) so don’t come loaded up with cans and bottles.
Where to sit?
The Two Stands Behind the Goals
Ticket Price (2021/22):
Curva Nord €14
Curva Sud €14
‘Curva Nord’ and ‘Curva Sud’ are the two stands behind each goal, and the cheapeast seats in the stadium. In you want the real US Lecce experience get a seat in ‘Curva Nord’, which is by far the most popular part of the stadium (and usually the only part that sells out). NB the Lecce Ultras sit in ‘Curva Nord Superiore’ so if you want to be in the middle of all the singing that’s where to go (they’re not violent -in the stadium at least- so there’s nothing to worry about). If you don’t want to be in the middle of all of it, obviously don’t get a ticket there.
‘Curva Sud’ is similar to ‘Curva Nord’ just not quite as popular, also because the away fans occupy the south east corner of it.
The superiore (upper tier) of both Curva Nord and Curva Sud are completely open (if it rains, you’ll get wet).
The inferiore (lower tier) of both Curva Nord and Curva Sud are covered (by the superiore).
Tribuna Est
Ticket Price (2021/22):
Tribuna Est €18
The east stand is the oldest part of Stadio Via del Mare and if you balance out price, view, and atmosphere is probably the best place to sit in the stadium. Despite the running track it's relatively close to the pitch and the stand is central rather than behind a goal. It's full of every day football punters who are enthusiastic, but perhaps not die hard fans. There’s usually a bit of sing song in Tribuna Est, but not the same hardcore chanting you get with the ultras. Tribuna Est is opposite the dug outs (where the players and coaches sit), and importantly it is completely open (both superiore and inferiore) so keep an eye on the weather for rain/excessive sun.
Tribuna Centrale
Ticket Price (2021/22):
Tribuna Centrale Poltronissime €55
Tribuna Centrale Superiore €36
Tribuna Centrale Inferiore €26
Tribuna Centrale is the poshest part of the stadium and the only bit with a roof. The centre part of the upper stand is where the VIP’s sit (basically the club president and board) and the media. If you really can’t handle slumming it with us riff raff you can also get a seat in the Poltronissime if you like. These are the seats next to the VIPs & media (in the middle part of the upper stand) and you’ll have to part with 55€ for the privilege (which is a hefty sum in Salento, but probably next to nothing for supporters of London premier league clubs). The lower tier of Tribuna Centrale is not a bad spot (and not too expensive), and it’s behind the dug outs so you get a good view of the players and coaches, and it’s obviously central (rather than behind a goal) so you have a more balanced view of play.