As flashy as the women’s game at the Hockey World Cup in Amstelveen sometimes is, the service in and around the Wagener Stadium is so slow, according to many visitors. Complaints are being made on social media about long waits for drinks and the toilets, with the hours of waiting for the shuttle buses being the most annoying. “This went too far,” visitor Yvonne told NH Nieuws.
Last Saturday, the Orange hockey women defeated the Irish with a crushing 5-1 at the world championship in Amstelveen. According to visitor Yvonne Matthijsse it was a nice match, at least, what she saw of it.
Because during the match the waiting already started. Yvonne had to go to the toilet, and it took about twenty minutes for a short visit. According to her, there was also a huge queue in front of the bar, but she decided that she wouldn’t order anything so that she wouldn’t have to go to the toilet a second time.
“It really comes across as if it was thought of last week to organize the whole event”
But the worst was yet to come, because after the match Yvonne and her family stood in line for two and a half hours before they could take the shuttle bus to the parking lot at the RAI. In short: “It really came across as if it had been thought of last week to organize the whole event.”
The group stage of the Hockey World Cup will partly take place this year in the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen. Visitors can reach the stadium on foot, by bicycle, public transport or car. For the latter option, there are limited parking spaces at the stadium itself, but much more available at the RAI, where shuttle buses depart to Amstelveen. Last Saturday 950 cars were parked at the RAI. A single journey takes fifteen minutes.
shuttle buses
On Saturday Yvonne got in line at half past nine. According to her, only four shuttle buses were running until 10:30 p.m. at the latest, and only three more after that. “That is simply far too little when thousands of people have to go to the parking lot. We were only at the car at a quarter past twelve in the morning. My children are luckily a bit older, but there were also small children waiting for more than two hours. ” With her, many other visitors were also dissatisfied with the waiting times.
According to the organization of the world championship – the Royal Dutch Hockey Association (KNHB) – there were five shuttle buses on Saturday. They also think that this is too little, because normally eight are on the road. The KNHB apologizes to the visitors and says it regrets the situation.
“We were no longer able to arrange replacement buses due to staff shortages at the bus companies”
“It was a combination of circumstances on Saturday that made the lines long. One bus was canceled due to technical reasons, in addition, many people had bought a parking ticket at the RAI at the last minute and we were no longer able to arrange replacement buses due to staff shortages at the bus companies,” said spokesperson Clarinda Sinnige.
Yvonne understands that there may be unforeseen circumstances, but she would rather have been informed about the bus shortage earlier. “Had I simply informed me by e-mail that the waiting times would be longer than usual, I would have gone to the stadium with an OV bicycle.”
Notes
The KNHB does make two comments about the waiting times after matches: “Firstly, at events such as these we cannot avoid certain peak moments. When the competition is over, everyone wants to leave at the same time, but of course that is not possible.” Also, according to the organization, only a maximum of eight shuttle buses can run at the same time. “Otherwise, the buses will block each other when entering and leaving the Amsterdamse Bos.”
As a result, visitors will often have to wait at least fifteen minutes. And despite the fact that the lines on Saturday were too long according to the association, all problems were solved the following Sunday. The ladies then played against Germany, and with eight shuttle buses, the waiting times after the game were limited.
Last group match
At half past seven tonight, the lionesses will play the last group match against Chile. The race is completely sold out and the maximum eight shuttle buses are ready again. In any case, Yvonne no longer intends to encourage the hockey ladies this World Cup: “I don’t think I will go to the Wagener stadium again. This was a downer.”