The Amsterdam ArenA has been the home of AFC Ajax since 1996. It is the largest stadium of the Netherlands with a capacity of 52,960 seats. In the early 90s Ajax’s former stadium De Meer proved to be too small with a capacity of just 19,000, and plans were made [...]
Anfield is one of the oldest grounds in England and home of Liverpool FC. It has a capacity of 45,522 seats. After Anfield opened in 1884 it got initially rented by Everton FC. The first game at the ground ended in Everton beating Earlstown 5-0. After a dispute over the [...]
The Arena Lviv is the home of FC Karpaty Lviv and will be one of the playing venues during Euro 2012. The stadium has a capacity of 34,915 seats. The Arena Lviv replaced FC Karpaty’s old Ukrayina Stadium which got built in 1963. Construction started in 2008 and was completed [...]
The AWD Arena, until 2002 called Niedersachsenstadion, is the home stadium of Hannover 96. The stadium has a capacity of 49,000, of which 8,000 standing places. At international matches the stadium counts with a total of 45,000 seats. The stadium furthermore holds 1,241 business seats and 29 VIP boxes. The [...]
Camp Nou is the largest football stadium in Europe and home to FC Barcelona. It has a capacity of 99,354 seats. Camp Nou was built between 1954 and 1957, and officially opened on the 24th of September 1957. The first match was played between FC Barcelona and a selection of [...]
The City Ground has been the home ground of Nottingham Forest FC for more than 100 years. It currently offers a capacity of 30,576 seats. The club moved to the City Ground on the 3rd of September 1898. It remained a fairly small stadium for the subsequent decades until new [...]
De Kuip, officially called Stadion Feijenoord, is one of the stadiums with the most hosted finals in European tournaments, and home to Feyenoord Rotterdam. It is the second largest stadium of the Netherlands with a capacity of 51,177 seats. In the early 1930s then Feyenoord president Van Zandvliet came up [...]
The Donbass Arena is the new home of FC Shakhtar Donetsk. It has a capacity of 51,504 seats, which includes 45 corporate boxes that can hold 830 people. Since 1936 FC Shakhtar had been playing its home matches at the Shakhtyor Stadium, but after businessman and club owner Rinat Akhmetov [...]
Elland Road is the home ground of Leeds United FC. The stadium currently has a capacity of 39,460 seats. Elland Road opened in 1897, however in the first years of its existence the ground was only used for rugby matches. In 1904 newly formed football club Leeds City moved into [...]
The Ernst Happel Stadion is the national stadium of Austria. Over the years it has been host to many finals, most notably that of Euro 2008. The stadium has a capacity of 50,865 seats. Since the 1910s the city of Vienna had been exploring the possibilities to build a new [...]
Estádio Algarve is a stadium near the city of Faro. The stadium was built to serve as one of the playing venues during the Euro 2004 tournament, and has a capacity of 30,305 seats, of which 320 places for VIPs. Construction of the stadium was completed late 2003, and the [...]
Estádio D. Afonso Henriques is the home of Vitória Sport Clube (Vitória de Guimarães). The stadium counts with a capacity of 30,000 seats. The stadium, then still called Estádio Municipal de Guimarães, opened in 1965. During its history the stadium underwent two major redevelopments, the first in 1991 for the [...]
Estádio da Luz, officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is the home of SL Benfica and was the playing venue of the Euro 2004 final. The stadium has a capacity of 64,400 seats, of which more than 7,000 business seats. Estádio da Luz replaced Benfica’s old stadium with [...]
Estádio do Dragão was built to provide FC Porto with a modern home and Euro 2004 with one of its flagship venues. It replaced FC Porto’s previous ground the Estádio das Antas, and has a capacity of 50,399 seats. The stadium is estimated to have cost €98 million. It was [...]
Estádio Cidade de Coimbra is the home stadium of Académica de Coimbra. It has a capacity of 29,622 seats. The stadium officially (re)opened on the 12th of September 2003. The stadium got almost completely rebuilt from Académica’s old stadium on the same site. Main purpose of the reconstruction were the [...]
Estádio José Alvalade is the home stadium of Sporting Clube do Portugal. It has a capacity of 50,049 seats. Construction of the stadium began in 2001 and finished in August 2003. The stadium was officially opened on the 6th of that month with a friendly match between Sporting and Manchester [...]
Estádio Municipal de Aveiro is the home of SC Beira-Mar. The stadium was built for the Euro 2004 tournament. It has a capacity of 32,830 seats, of which 1,796 VIP places. Estádio Municipal de Aveiro officially opened on the 15th of November 2003 with a friendly match between the national [...]
Estádio Municipal de Braga, since 2007 unofficially renamed Estádio AXA, is the distinctive stadium of Sporting Clube de Braga. It has a capacity of 30,154 seats. The stadium, designed by Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, was built with the objective of serving as one of the playing venues at [...]
Estádio Municipal de Leiria – Dr. Magalhães Pessoa is a stadium in the Portuguese city of Leiria that was until 2011 the home of UD Leiria. The stadium has a capacity of 23,164 seats. The stadium got built to serve as one of the playing venues of Euro 2004. It [...]
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is the third largest stadium of Europe and home to Real Madrid CF. It currently has a capacity of 85,454 seats. In the early decades of the 20th century Real Madrid played first at Campo De O’Donnell and then at Campo Chamartin, when in 1943 Madrid-president Santiago [...]
The GelreDome is the home of Vitesse Arnhem. During football matches the stadium has a capacity of 25,000 seats. The GelreDome was built to serve as a multifunctional stadium, and was the first football stadium in the world to have a retractable pitch. It was also, after the Amsterdam ArenA, [...]
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday FC. The stadium has hosted World Cup and European Championship matches, but was also the site of one of the worst stadium disasters in history. It currently has a capacity of 39,732 seats. Sheffield Wednesday moved to Hillsborough in 1899. The first [...]
The Jan Breydel Stadion is the home stadium of both Club Brugge KV and Cercle Brugge KSV. The stadium currently has a capacity of 29,042 seats, of which 463 business seats. The stadium got built in 1974 and opened one year later in 1975. The stadium was built by the [...]
The Mercedes-Benz Arena, previously called Neckarstadion and Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, is the home stadium of VFB Stuttgart. It has a capacity of 60,441, of which 11,121 standing places. The stadium got built between 1929 and 1933 and opened on the 26th of July 1933 with the German Gymnastics Championships. The stadium was [...]
The Metalist Stadium is the home stadium of FC Metalist Kharkiv and will be one of the playing venues during Euro 2012. The stadium has a capacity of 38,633 seats, including 506 VIP seats. Construction of the Metalist Stadium started in 1925 and finished with its official opening on the [...]
The Müngersdorfer Stadion was the stadium that stood in the place of the current RheinEnergieStadion until it was demolished in 2001. As such, it was the home of 1. FC Köln. It was constructed to enhance the status of the city of Cologne, and served to provide 15,000 people with [...]
The National Sports Complex Olimpiyskiy is the Ukrainian national stadium, host to the upcoming Euro 2012 final, and home to FC Dynamo Kiev. The stadium has a capacity of 70,050 seats. The Olimpiyskiy Stadium, then still called Republic Stadium MS Krushchov, was originally planned to open on the 22nd of [...]
Nya Ullevi is the largest stadium in Sweden. It is currently not occupied by any club team, however local derbies and other important matches are regularly played at the stadium. The stadium has a capacity of 43,000 seats. Nya Ullevi was built to serve as one of the playing venues [...]
Old Trafford is the second largest stadium in England and home to Manchester United FC. The stadium has a capacity of 75,811 seats. In the first decade of the 20th century Manchester United played its matches at a 50,000-stadium at Bank Street, when then president Davies began planning for a [...]
The Parc des Princes is the home stadium of Paris Saint-Germain FC. It offers a capacity of 48,527 seats. The Parc de Princes was designed with the aim of providing a venue for important rugby and football matches. Works started in 1968 when the Velodrome, that stood in its place, [...]
From 1973 until 2001 the Parkstadion was FC Schalke 04’s home ground. After a last renovation in 1998 it offered a capacity of 62,004 (17,042 standing places), reduced to 55,877 for international matches. First ideas to build a new stadium for Schalke arose in the early 1960s, but it took [...]
The PGE Arena is the recently built home stadium of Lechia Gdańsk, and one of the playing venues during Euro 2012. The stadium has a capacity of 42,105 seats. The PGE Arena was built with the perspective of being one of the host stadiums during Euro 2012. Construction of the [...]
The Philips Stadion has been home to PSV Eindhoven since the club’s foundation in 1913. The stadium has a capacity of 35,200 seats. The first ball was kicked at the ground on the 13th of August 1913 by the then 8 year old Frits Philips, son of Philips Electronics founder Anton [...]
The Red Bull Arena is the home of FC Red Bull Salzburg. It currently has a capacity of 30,188. Construction of the stadium began in 2001 and was completed in 2003. The opening match was played on the 8th of March 2003 between SV Wüstenrot Salzburg and FC Kärnten. The [...]
The Rheinstadion was the home of Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 and a playing venue during a World Cup and European Championship. The Rheinstadion was built in the mid 1920s and formed part of a complex of other sports facilities. The stadium opened on the 26th of April 1926 with a friendly [...]
Stadio San Siro, officially called Stadio Guiseppe Meazza, is the home of Milan clubs AC Milan and FC Internazionale. The stadium has a capacity of 80,018 seats. The construction of the stadium was a project of Milan president Piero Pirelli, and after a building period of a little over a [...]
St James’ Park, currently temporarily renamed Sports Direct Arena, is the home of Newcastle United FC. It is the fourth largest stadium in England with a capacity of 52,339 seats, and has the largest cantilever roof in Europe. First football was played at the current site as early as 1880, [...]
St. Jakob-Park, locally also called Joggeli, is the largest stadium of Switzerland and home to FC Basel. It has a capacity of 38,512 seats. Construction of the stadium began in December 1998, replacing FC Basel’s old ground with the same name. The first match played at the stadium was between [...]
Stade de Genève is the home of Servette FC. With a capacity of 30,084 seats it is the third-largest stadium of Switzerland. Stade de Genève officially opened on the 16th of Match 2003 with a match between Servette and Young Boys. Construction of the stadium had started two years earlier. [...]
Stade de Sclessin, officially named Stade Maurice Dufrasne, is the home of Royal Standard de Liège. It offers a capacity of 30,023 seats. The stadium opened in 1909 and reached its maximum capacity in the 1970s with 43,000. The stadium organised the match for third place during the Euro 1972 [...]
Stade de Suisse has been the home of BSC Young Boys since 2005. The stadium has been built at the site of Bern’s famous Wankdorf Stadion. It has a capacity of 32,000 seats. The old Wankdorf Stadion got demolished in 2001, after which was started with the construction of the [...]
Stade du Pays de Charleroi is the home of Sporting de Charleroi. The stadium has a capacity of 25,000 seats. First football was played at the site of the stadium in 1923, however it took until 1939 before an actual stadium was built. In its first 60 years of its [...]
Stade Geoffroy Guichard is the home of AS Saint-Etienne. The stadium currently has a capacity of 35,700 seats. Stade Geoffroy Guichard opened on the 13th of September 1931 with a match between AS Stéphanoise (which would later become Saint-Etienne) and AS Cannes (1-9). The stadium was built on a plot [...]
Stade Gerland is the home of Olympique Lyonnais. It has a capacity of 40,494 seats. The stadium was constructed in the 1920s and officially opened in May 1926. It was designed as a stadium for multiple sports and in its first decades little football was played at the stadium. It [...]
The Stade Roi Baudouin (French) – Koning Boudewijnstadion (Dutch) is the largest stadium of Belgium, and the stadium where the Belgian national team plays most of its home matches. It has a capacity of 50,093 seats. In 1927 the Brussels government decided to build a new stadium that could cater [...]
The Stade Velodrome is the home of Olympique de Marseille. The stadium currently has a reduced capacity of 42,000 seats due to the redevelopment works it is undergoing. Until the summer of 2011 it had a capacity of 60,031 seats. The stadium opened in 1937 with a friendly match between [...]
Stadio Olimpico in Rome is the home stadium of AS Roma and SS Lazio, annual host of the Coppa Italia final, and has been host of many international finals in its history. Its current capacity is 72.698 seats. Works to build the stadium started in 1928, with the first tier [...]
Stadio San Paolo is the third largest stadium in Italy and home to SSC Napoli. It has a capacity of 60,240 seats. The stadium was opened on the 6th of December 1959 with a match between Napoli and Juventus (2-1). The initial capacity was 87,500, mostly standing places. The stadium [...]
Stadion Crvena Zvezda, often nicknamed Marakana, is the home of FK Crvena Zvezda (Red Star). The stadium has a capacity of 53,000 seats. Stadion Crvenz Zvezda was built on the site where previously the Jugoslavija stadium stood. The Jugoslavija stadium had been built in 1927 and been occupied by Red [...]
Stadion Maksimir is the home of GNK Dinamo Zagreb. The stadium has a capacity of 35,981 seats, of which 930 seats in VIP lodges. Stadion Maksimir got built in 1912 and opened on the 5th of May of that year. During the 1976 European Championships the stadium hosted one of [...]
Stadion Miejski is the home stadium of KKS Lech Poznań and will be one of the playing venues during the upcoming 2012 European Championships. It has a capacity of 43,269 seats. Stadio Miejski was built over a period of 12 years. First works started in 1968, but it took until [...]
Stadion Miejski w Wrocławiu, or Municipal Stadium Wrocław, is the home stadium of WKS Śląsk Wrocław and one of the playing venues of Euro 2012. The stadium has a capacity of 44,901 seats, of which 2,130 VIP places. The stadium was built with the perspective of the upcoming Euro 2012 [...]
Stadion Narodowy w Warszawie (National Stadium Warsaw) is Poland’s recently built national stadium. It has a capacity of 58,145 seats. Though plans had existed before to build a new Polish national stadium, these were accelerated with Poland being granted the Euro 2012 Championships. The stadium was built [...]
Villa Park is the home ground of Aston Villa FC. Its current capacity is 42,785 seats. The stadium opened on the 17th of April 1897 with a friendly game between Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers. Its initial capacity was 40,000, but this was gradually increased in the following decades. On [...]
Houston Celebrate Opening of BBVA Compass Stadium
On Saturday the Houston Dynamo’s new stadium, the BBVA Compass Stadium, officially opened with a match between the Dynamo and DC United. The Dynamo celebrated the opening with a 1-0 win over the visitors from Washington DC. The BBVA Compass Stadium is the 14th soccer-specific stadium in the Major League [...]
Boca Juniors Wants to Build a New Stadium
Boca Juniors president Daniel Angelici has confirmed that the club is currently looking into the options of building a new stadium. The president did this in a radio interview while in Spain looking for investors in the club. He right away went into further detail [...]
Chelsea Submit Bid for Battersea Station Site
Chelsea’s interest in the Battersea Power Station site as a potential location for a future new stadium has been no secret, but the club has now officially submitted a bid for the iconic site. From the press release on its official website: [...]
Work Behind the Scenes on New AS Roma Stadium
A recently tweeted photo by AS Roma CEO Mark Pannes has confirmed that the club is currently working hard on realising a new stadium. The photo shows three men looking at a wall full of stadium photos and was accompanied by the following [...]
New Barcelona Stadium Back on the Table
FC Barcelona is again looking into the possibilities of either building a new stadium, or extensively renovating Camp Nou. This reports Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo based on a strategic report the club will internally discuss in the upcoming weeks. The strategic report calls for the return of [...]
Liverpool FC took a step back and forwards at the same time when it decided to proceed with its 9-year-old plans for a new stadium, reports the Telegraph. Even though current American owners Fenway Sports Group had earlier indicated to prefer a redevelopment of Anfield, they now [...]
Valencia Stadium Works Resumed in 2012
Works on the Nuevo Mestalla stadium will resume at the beginning of 2012, according to an announcement of the mayor of Valencia and the club’s president last Tuesday. Construction of the stadium, which began in August 2007, was halted early 2009 with little indication during the last [...]
Twenty Years Ago: The Bastia Stadium Disaster
No matches were played in Ligue 1 last Saturday. Instead the league commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Furiani stadium disaster which took the lives of 18 fans and injured hundreds more. The lead up to the disaster starts on the 22nd of April 1992. SC Bastia, from the football-mad [...]
The Stadiums that Could Have Been
Building a new football stadium is no easy task. It usually starts with an ambitious chairman enthusiastically announcing the plans, but all too often ends in frustration and sometimes resignation. Though in the end most stadium proposals manage to overcome [...]
Five Reasons Why Poland and Ukraine Won’t Be Another Portugal
With the European Championships still three months away, there is already plenty of talk about the legacy of the tournament. That is, experts are warning that Poland and the Ukraine might become the next Portugal. Or South Africa, speaking in World Cup terms. [...]
