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October 7, 2008 6:41 PM
By Kerstin Gehmlich
HAMBURG, Germany - Gardener Lars Rehder stands next to a fresh grave in a cemetery and wonders which flowers best match the blue and white of Hamburg SV.
Rehder is working on a new "football graveyard," where fans can find final rest a stone's throw from their team's stadium, buried underneath original grass from the Hamburg pitch and lying in blue coffins featuring the Bundesliga leaders' logo.
"Classic rows of gravestones seemed boring," said Rehder, recalling how he came up with the idea for the graveyard with a stone-cutter friend a few years ago.
"Thousands of fans take the shortcut through the
cemetery to get to the stadium every time there's a
match on.
"It seemed like the obvious thing to do when this
patch of cemetery became available," the 36-year-old
said about the site, which opened last month but so
far contains only one grave.
Set up in a semi-circle, the site allowed graves to be
arranged "like fans in a stadium" on terrace-style steps
surrounding a patch of green - "the pitch," Rehder said.
Wealthy fans might be attracted by what he called the
"VIP lounge" family grave for 10,500 euros ($20,000), while
the less well-off could opt for a smaller spot for an urn at
2,500 euros ($4800).
"It's cheaper. I call it the supporters' stand option," Rehder
said, looking around the site, which mourners enter through
a black, stylised goal.
Fans opting for a soccer burial can choose between a
range of HSV coffins, urns and flower arrangements in
the club's colors.
Blue, white and black are the colors of the club's logo,
merchandise, stadium seats and away shirts, though the
team play in red and white when at home.
Special funeral ceremonies are also available. "Clients
can decide to have their favorite match sequences played
at the ceremony," said Thomas Amm from undertakers
SCI Deutschland, sitting in his office next to a bright blue
coffin decorated with an HSV scarf and cap.
"We can pull out the 1983 European Cup victory, for
example, and play that in the chapel."
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