Castle, Schwetzingen Castle and Hambach Castle. There are three nature parks (the Palatinate Forest, Neckartal-Odenwald, and the Bergstrasse-Odenwald geopark) within the region as well as four wine-growing areas (Baden, Hessische Bergstrasse, Palatinate, Rhine-Hesse). In terms of sports, the Rhine-Neckar region features professional teams like Adler Mannheim (ice hockey), Rhein-Neckar Löwen (handball) and SV Sandhausen and 1899 Hoffenheim (association football). Notable venues are the Golf Club St. Leon-Rot and the Hockenheimring motorsport circuit. The Olympic training centre for the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region keeps local sportspeople at Olympic level. With more than 2,700 sports associations getting people moving from the Palatinate Forest to the Odenwald mountains, the region offers a broad range of non-professional sports activities. The SAP Arena built in 2005 serves as the region's most important indoor event venue. The Rhein-Neckar-Arena opened in 2009 as the new home of 1899 Hoffenheim. See also Metropolitan regions in Germany References External links Video featuring the Rhine-Neckar Region on YouTube Wish you were here – more information regarding welcome projects of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region Official regional portal of Initiative Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region Mannheim Metropolitan areas of Germany Geography of Hesse Planning regions in Baden-Württemberg Geography of Rhineland-Palatinate