The week’s attendances facts: Reading, Southampton, and West Ham replaced Blackburn, Bolton, and Wolves in the Premier League this year, and the result is a steep increase of the PL’s occupancy rate. The three new teams all (close to) sell out their home matches, with the consequence that now 95% [...]
On Saturday, Saint-Etienne concluded the first stage of the redevelopment of Stade Geoffroy-Guichard with the opening of the new Charles Paret stand. The Charles Paret stand, more commonly referred to as Kop Nord, was rebuilt over the last year and will once again become the home of Saint-Etienne’s most fanatic [...]
FC Aarau has once again presented plans for the construction of a new stadium, and is full of confidence that this time they may actually get realised. Aarau has long tried to built a new home that can replace the old and dilapidated Stadion Brügglifeld, which [...]
Carlisle United’s plans for a new stadium took a hit when a council report concluded that the town does not need the retail development that is planned alongside the new stadium. Carlisle proposed a new 12,000 all-seater stadium in the Kingmoor area in the north of the town last year, [...]
The quest for a new Northern Ireland national stadium is one of those new stadium stories that goes back a long time and never seems to end. Most will be familiar with Northern Ireland’s current home, Windsor Park. It is definitely a stadium with [...]
Feyenoord has chosen to build an entirely new stadium next to its current stadium De Kuip. In recent months, the club had been investigating two different options proposed by consortia led by construction firms, but today announced that they have chosen the [...]
This week’s attendances facts: The first two playing rounds of the Bundesliga suggest that the league’s attendances won’t be breaking any records this year. The average is down 4,000, though this is more due to the new entrants than the remaining teams. Things should pick up though once Fortuna Düsseldorf [...]
In case you like to click around the venues that we will be seeing in the Champions League this year, here is the overview. The final will be played once more at Wembley Stadium. Group A FC Porto Estádio do Dragão FC Dynamo Kiev NSC Olimpiyskiy Paris Saint-Germain Parc [...]
Everything seemed done and dusted. The Aberdeen city council had approved Aberdeen’s new stadium, and even though the club had postponed the start of construction, there was little doubt that they would move into a new home in the summer of 2014. Then, everything changed last Thursday when another council [...]
For years, the attendances of Lille have been a source of mockery for the rest of France. Of course, first Stade Grimonprez-Jooris and later Stade Lille-Métropole were poor homes, but a city the size of Lille, with over a million inhabitants, surely should [...]
Maracanã reopens with first test match
The legendary Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro has reopened with a first test match after three years of building works. Before hosting another test match on the 15th of May, it will then officially open on the 2nd of June with a friendly between the Brazilian and [...]
Sampdoria take step closer to seafront stadium
Sampdoria have taken another step closer to realising a new seaside home after presenting their plans to a special committee of the city of Genoa. Sampdoria hope to build a new 30,000 all-seater in the place of the present Palasport indoor arena and [...]
West Ham receive 99-year lease for Olympic Stadium
West Ham have agreed a contract to move into the London Olympic Stadium from the start of the 2016-17 season. On Friday, the club finally received confirmation of the deal that follows on a long and torturous process and saw an earlier deal collapse.
Anji opens redeveloped Anji Arena
FC Anji Makhachkala have found a new home in the redeveloped Anji Arena, but while the Anji Arena has the look of a modern stadium, the rich Russian club of billionaire Kerimov and star player Eto’o hope that their stay at the new arena will only be a temporary one. [...]
Manchester City contemplate Etihad expansion
Manchester City appears to be considering expanding the Etihad Stadium with an extra tier to the Family and South Stand. This has become clear from a survey the club has sent out to its fans. The survey, which was sent by email, starts like [...]
Opening Grêmio Arena marks a new dawn in Brazilian football
The 2012 Brazilian Séria A season has just finished, but when the new season starts in May 2013, much will have changed. The reason for this is that the largest country of South America will be swept by a series of stadium openings in the next [...]
Real Madrid showcases four proposals for redeveloped Bernabéu
At the end of last Sunday’s member’s assembly, Real Madrid chairman Florentina Pérez had a little surprise for the socios. These were four models of four different proposals for the redevelopment of Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. The models had been vigorously kept secret [...]
While it is not uncommon for shiny new stadiums to get built in places where you would not expect them, there is something even more special going on in Iraq right now: an actual stadium boom. The Arab country, still recovering from the war, has decided to put some of its oil money in a massive overhaul of [...]
Oh, how times can change. Let me give the word to Peter Storrie, ex-chairman of Portsmouth FC: Portsmouth is moving into a new dawn with the backing of owner Alexandre Gaydamak and these are very exciting times for the club both on and off the field. The new [...]
2012 review – the world of football stadiums
It is the end of December, which means that it is tradition to look back at the year we are about the finish. In our case, it means looking back at what happened in the fascinating world of football stadiums. The year 2012 came off the back of a prolific 2011 in terms of [...]
