Szőnyi úti Stadion - BVSC Zugló
Photos by Chris Tuck, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.43
Szőnyi úti Stadion 1142 Budapest, Szőnyi út 2.
Hungary
Year Opened: 1952 (late 1920s) Capacity: 5000 (current)
Crossing the Line
Association football has been played on Szőnyi Utca, enclosed by a major transport interchange for over a century.
The compact site soon became the home ground of Budapest Railwaymen’s Sports Club due to its proximity to the huge Rendezőpályaudvar (Marshalling & Classification) railway yard.
The stadium in its current guise opened on 1 May 1952, with a capacity of 18,000. Today, with a much smaller capacity, this is a must-visit stadium with bags of character and huge old-school floodlights to die for.
Simply arriving at the ground takes you back to the club’s roots, as approximately ten train lines need negotiating to reach your goal!
Food & Beverage 2
Three refreshment options are available within the footprint of the stadium.
A wooden shed, situated behind the Szőnyi Utca stand, provides a limited menu of beer, soft drinks and sweets.
The stadium is just one section of a thriving sports club complex. Head towards the swimming pool at the southern end of the stadium, and a leisure centre-style cafe serves hot drinks, filled rolls and other snacks.
Finally, at the main entrance to the stadium, a modern bar and restaurant called SPORT Bistro has a variety of drinks and food available.
Although this bar is technically outside the stadium, visitors are allowed to come and go throughout their visit to purchase refreshments.
Atmosphere 5
Home fans and visitors are placed in open seating, running down the Szőnyi Utca side of the stadium. Five or six rows of unallocated large bucket seats are available. Front row views are affected by the pitch-side fencing so the stand tends to fill from the back. Access this stand from the main entrance by Sport Bistro. Then head past the wooden refreshment shed, and climb the steps into the seated area.
The opposite stand is a beauty! The wooden fascias and central section with its own pitched roof have an ‘alpine’ feel. The perfectly symmetrical stand, resplendent in club colours is smaller than the touchline length, adding to its quaint appeal.
This ‘main’ stand holds away fans on one side and the other, mainly press / VIP. This stand is accessed from a footpath running parallel with Teleki Blanka Utca in the north-west corner of the stadium. There is a ticket office next to the entrance that takes cash or card.
There are no fans allowed behind the two goals. The north end has no facilities at all (this means you could view the match through the outer fence without entering the actual stadium). The other end is landscaped with a raised European-style half-moon curve. Aside from an attractive walkway, its only feature is the stadium’s large digital scoreboard.
Neighborhood 3
Due to the excellent travel network in Budapest, there is no need for visitors to limit themselves to the Zugló district. (See our reviews of Bozsik Aréna and Sport utcai Stadion for other attractions and cultural sights in Budapest).
Zuglo itself is known as the ‘green district’ with a city park, zoo and botanical gardens. It’s a very safe district situated less than 20 minutes from the centre of the city.
With the stadium surrounded by railway lines and the 6-lane M3 motorway, visitors are unlikely to spend too much time in this part of Zuglo. The best local option is a small bar called Manó büfé with outside seating directly opposite the multiple pedestrian and road railway crossings.
It’s a little ‘rough and ready’, but a pre-match beer here is a must. (Food also available, see their Facebook page.) Why here? Rail crossings in Hungary are not as strict as in some countries. When the barriers are down, pedestrians and bikes should stop but approaching trains can still be minutes away. This makes for fascinating people-watching as locals and match-going supporters on foot or by bicycle, stop at the barrier. A conscious debate is etched on their face as they glance left and right. Some relax and casually wait (correct option kids), others circumnavigate the barrier, look, listen and dash comedically across the rails!
Fans 3
The wider sporting club has provided members with a century of sporting opportunity. Members and fans, initially from the adjacent railway depot, are now drawn from across the district.
Recent attendances hover around the 500 mark, perhaps more when local sides are the opposition. Fans that do attend are still dedicated and, along with the club, have offered free sports club membership to refugees from the war in Ukraine. The blue and yellow colours of BVSC being familiar to their neighbours to the north.
Like many clubs based behind the old Iron Curtain, the club has had numerous name changes. Founded in 1911 as MAVOSZ Budapesti VSC and settling on BVSC-Zugló (Budapesti Vasutas Sport Club-Zugló) from 2011 onwards.
Tier 2 is the team’s current level (NB2) and so the standard is good. Fans have seen the club win the NB2 title on three occasions so far in their history. Their highest ever finish was runners-up in NB1 in 1996. This period also saw BVSC play six European games over two seasons, a peak time in their history which included becoming losing finalists in the National Cup in 1996 and 1997.
Since then the football part of the sporting club actually closed for a decade before restarting in 2012.
Access 4
Zuglo is on the edge of Budapest’s 14th District, nestled between train tracks and the 6-lane M3-as autópálya.
To get the full railwaymen experience, stop off at Manó büfé and cross those railway tracks yourself. Arriving from the west is best. Head to the stadium along Szegedi út from district 13. This means heading for the Béke tér tram stop and walking 20 minutes to the ground.
If visitors are arriving from the centre of the city, use the historic and ornate underground metro line 1 to Mexikói. From there it’s a 7-minute walk to the large main entrance which includes the aforementioned SPORT bar.
The nearest overground train station is Rákosrendező, alight there and cross those numerous train tracks to the stadium.
If arriving by car, free parking spaces are available in Teleki Blanka Utca, subject to availability. Additional parking is available at the BVSC main parking lot on the corner of Mexikói and Szőnyi út.
The entrance desks selling tickets generally open 1 hour before kick-off. No need to buy tickets in advance.
Return on Investment 5
Tickets cost just 1,500 HUF and 1,200 for OAPs and students. This is extremely good value and with no merchandise to purchase, a trip here represents excellent value!
Extras 2
Dig deeper into the club’s roots by visiting the Hungarian Railway Museum in Zuglo, a 7-minute drive from the stadium.
More than 15 others sports are covered by the club. In summer 2026, the BVSC swimming section returned from the European Swimming Championships in Paris with gold medals aplenty.
Final Thoughts
This ‘railway’ stadium could be missed by visitors to Budapest as they take in the brighter lights of Honvéd, Ferencváros and MTK. However, these venues have all benefited (and lost?) from costly and extensive renovations. Zuglo retains its working class background. The ‘proper’ old floodlights, can be seen for miles. The eclectic mix of stands and the railway’s ongoing presence combine to make this a real experience.
This and the whole visit could cost visitors less than ten euros. The ground may not ‘score’ highly in conventional aspects, but on many other scales it’s a 10/10 must-visit.
