Feijenoord Stadium
The stadium's original capacity was 64,000. In 1949, it was expanded to 69,000, and in 1994 it was converted to a 51,117-seat all-seater. In 1999, a significant amount of restoration and interior work took place at the stadium prior to its use as a venue in the UEFA Euro 2000 tournament, although capacity was largely unaffected.
History
Leen van Zandvliet, Feyenoord's president in the 1930s, came up with the idea of building an entirely new stadium, unlike any other on the continent, with two free hanging tiers and no obstacles blocking the view. Contemporary examples were Highbury, where the West and East stands had been recently built as a double deck, and Yankee Stadium in New York. Johannes Brinkman and Leendert van der Vlugt, the famous designers of the Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam were asked to design a stadium out of glass, concrete and steel, cheap materials at that time. The stadium was co-financed by the billionaire Daniël George van Beuningen, who made his fortune in World War I, exporting coal from Germany to Britain through neutral Netherlands.
In World War II, the stadium was nearly torn down for scrap by German occupiers. After the war, the stadium's capacity was expanded in 1949; stadium lights were added in 1958. On 29 October 1991, De Kuip was named as being one of Rotterdam's monuments. In 1994 the stadium was extensively renovated to its present form: It became all-seater, and the roof was extended to cover all the seats. An extra building was constructed for commercial use by Feyenoord, it also houses a restaurant and a museum, The Home of History.
Facilities and related buildings
Next to De Kuip and Feyenoord's training ground there is another, but smaller, sports arena, the Topsportcentrum Rotterdam. This arena hosts events in many sports and in various levels of competition. Some examples of sports that can be seen in the topsportcentrum are judo, volleyball and handball.
Commercial uses
Football history
De Kuip is currently the home stadium of football club Feyenoord, traditionally one of the top teams in the Netherlands. It has also long been one of the home grounds of the Netherlands national football team, having hosted over 150 international matches, the first international match at the stadium was a match against Belgium on 2 May 1937. In 1963, De Kuip staged the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, with Tottenham Hotspur becoming the first British club to win a European trophy, defeating Atlético Madrid 5–1. The stadium has hosted a record ten European finals, the last being the 2002 UEFA Cup Final in which Feyenoord, coincidentally playing a home match, defeated Borussia Dortmund 3–2. As a result, Feyenoord holds the distinction of being the only club to win a one-legged European final in their own stadium. In 2000, the Feijenoord stadium hosted the final of Euro 2000, played in the Netherlands and Belgium, where France defeated Italy 2–1 in extra time. The stadium also hosted the 2023 UEFA Nations League Final.
Date | Winners | Result | Runners-up | Round | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 May 1963 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5–1 | Atlético Madrid | 1963 European Cup Winners' Cup Final | 49,000 |
23 May 1968 | Milan | 2–0 | Hamburger SV | 1968 European Cup Winners' Cup Final | 53,000 |
31 May 1972 | Ajax | 2–0 | Inter Milan | 1972 European Cup Final | 61,354 |
8 May 1974 | Magdeburg | 2–0 | Milan | 1974 European Cup Winners' Cup Final | 6,461 |
26 May 1982 | Aston Villa | 1–0 | Bayern Munich | 1982 European Cup Final | 46,000 |
15 May 1985 | Everton | 3–1 | Rapid Wien | 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup Final | 38,500 |
15 May 1991 | Manchester United | 2–1 | Barcelona | 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup Final | 43,500 |
14 May 1997 | Barcelona | 1–0 | Paris Saint-Germain | 1997 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final | 36,802 |
2 July 2000 | France | 2–1 (g.g.) |
Italy | UEFA Euro 2000 Final | 50,000 |
8 May 2002 | Feyenoord | 3–2 | Borussia Dortmund | 2002 UEFA Cup Final | 45,611 |
18 June 2023 | Spain | 0–0 (5–4 pen) | Croatia | 2023 UEFA Nations League Final | 41,110 |
Concerts
The stadium has hosted concerts since 1978. Among the first performers at De Kuip were Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton. David Bowie held his dress rehearsals and subsequently opened his 1987 Glass Spider Tour at the stadium.
New stadium
Since 2006, Feyenoord has been working on plans for a new stadium, initially planned for completion in 2017 and with an estimated capacity of 85,000 seats. In 2014, Feyenoord decided to renovate the existing stadium, expanding its capacity to 70,000, as well as adding a retractable roof. Construction was planned to start in summer 2015 and finish in 2018, with an estimated €200 million cost. Plans included a new training facility costing an extra €16 million.
In March 2016, Feyenoord announced that they instead preferred building a new stadium. In May 2017, the city of Rotterdam agreed with a plan to build a new stadium with a capacity of 63,000 seats. In December 2019, Feyenoord announced that if construction of the new stadium was given in the final go-ahead in 2020 the stadium would open in the summer of 2025. On 21 April 2022, managing director Dennis te Kloesse announced that the club would not proceed with renovating the existing stadium or building a new one.
Euro 2000
Date | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|
13 June 2000 | Spain | 0–1 |
Norway | Group C |
16 June 2000 | Denmark | 0–3 |
Netherlands | Group D |
20 June 2000 | Portugal | 3–0 |
Germany | Group A |
25 June 2000 | Netherlands | 6–1 |
FR Yugoslavia | Quarter-finals |
2 July 2000 | France | 2–1 (asdet) |
Italy | Final |
2023 UEFA Nations League Finals
One of the venues of the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals.
Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 June 2023 | Netherlands | 2–4 (a.e.t.) |
Croatia | Semi-finals | 39,359 |
18 June 2023 | Croatia | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) |
Spain | Final | 41,110 |
Average attendance numbers per season, 1937–2007
Gallery
-
De Kuip from above
-
Inside the stadium
-
Another view inside the stadium
-
Feyenoord helicopter entering the stadium
See also
References
- ^ "Stadion Feijenoord" (in Dutch). dekuip.nl. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Stadion Feijenoord – Het mooiste voetbalstadion van Nederland".
- ^ "Some of the world's scariest places to play or watch football". BBC News. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- ^ "Feijenoord – historie". vasf.nl. Archived from the original on 2007-05-16.
- ^ "Home of History". stadionfeijenoord.nl. Archived from the original on 2007-02-07.
- ^ "Topsportcentrum Rotterdam". topsportcentrum.nl.
- ^ Currie, David (1987), David Bowie: Glass Idol (1st ed.), London and Margate, England: Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-1182-7
- ^ http://www.feyenoord.nl/nieuws/nieuwsoverzicht/feyenoord-kiest-voor-vernieuwbouwde-kuip-ffc. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch)
- ^ http://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/139913/Feyenoord-wil-nieuwe-Kuip-langs-de-Maas. Rijnmond.nl (in Dutch)
- ^ "Bij groen licht opent het nieuwe stadion in 2025". Feyenoord (in Dutch). 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Feyenoord gaat niet door met bouw nieuw stadion". Feyenoord (in Dutch). 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
External links
- De Kuip Official Website
- De Kuip at Footballmatch.de
- Aerial photo (Google Maps)
- 3D format on Google Earth Archived 2013-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
Events and tenants | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | European Cup Winners' Cup Final venue 1963 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | European Cup Winners' Cup Final venue 1968 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | European Cup Final venue 1972 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | European Cup Winners' Cup Final venue 1974 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | European Cup Final venue 1982 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | European Cup Winners' Cup Final venue 1985 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | European Cup Winners' Cup Final venue 1991 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final venue 1997 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | UEFA European Championship Final venue 2000 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | UEFA Cup Final venue 2002 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | UEFA Nations League Finals venue 2023 with De Grolsch Veste |
Succeeded by |