Feijenoord Stadion
Encyclopedia
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
that was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the area "Feijenoord
Feijenoord district
Feijenoord is a district in Rotterdam and is located south of the Nieuwe Maas. As of 1 January 2004 there were 72,320 citizens. The area is 6.44 km²...
" in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, and from the club with the same name (although the club's name was internationalised to Feyenoord in 1973).
Capacity at completion: 64,000. Maximum capacity: 69,000 (1949). Present day capacity: 51,177 (49,000 for KNVB matches).
It is the home stadium of football club Feyenoord, one of the traditional top teams in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. It has also long been one of the home grounds of the Dutch national team
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
, having hosted over 150 international matches, with the first one being a match against Belgium on 2 May 1937. Also, a record ten European finals have taken place in the Feijenoord stadium. The last one was the 2002 UEFA Cup Final
2002 UEFA Cup Final
The 2002 UEFA Cup Final was a football match played on 8 May 2002, between Feyenoord of the Netherlands and Borussia Dortmund of Germany. Feyenoord won the match 3–2. It was the 31st UEFA Cup Final and was held in the Feijenoord Stadion, which is the home ground of Feyenoord...
in which Feyenoord, coincidentally playing a home match, defeated Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
3–2.
In 2000, the Feijenoord stadium hosted the final of Euro 2000, played in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, where France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
defeated Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
2–1 in extra time.
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. The great examples at that time were HighburyArsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
, where the West and East stands had been recently built as a double deck, and Yankee Stadium in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Johannes Brinkman and Leendert van der Vlugt
Leendert van der Vlugt
Leendert Cornelis van der Vlugt was a Dutch architect in Rotterdam.After the death of the Rotterdam architect Michiel Brinkman in 1925, his son Johannes Brinkman, a constructional engineer, took over the architectural office and made Leendert van der Vlugt co-director. The new practice was called...
, the famous designers of the van Nelle factories in Rotterdam were asked to design a stadium out of glass, concrete and steel, cheap materials at that time. They came up with a design that is modern even in this era. In fact, "de Kuip" acted as an example for many of the greatest stadia we know today, eg Camp Nou
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
. The stadium was co-financed by the billionaire Daniël George van Beuningen
Daniël George van Beuningen
Daniël George van Beuningen was a Dutch businessman and icon for the city of Rotterdam.Born in Utrecht Van Beuningen had a typical character referring to people from Rotterdam. He was a hard working man in the port of the city, which was the largest port in the world in those days...
, who made his fortune in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, exporting coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from Germany to England through neutral Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the stadium nearly got torn down, because the German occupiers needed the materials. Fortunately it didn't come to that. After the war the stadium got extra seats (1949) and stadium lights (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 an 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.
The stadium has hosted concerts since 1978. The first ones were Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
.
Since 1996, the stadium hasn't hosted many concerts, because of the competition of the Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam Arena is a stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is the largest stadium in the nation and it was built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost of €140 million, and was officially opened on 14 August 1996. It has been used for association football, American football, concerts, and other events...
.
As of January 2007, the stadium can be found in 3D format on Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
.
Facilities and related buildings
Adjacent to De Kuip inside the Maasgebouw (Maas building) is a restaurant, Brasserie “De Kuip Eten en Drinken”, which a sporty decoration combined with a cosy atmosphere. The brasserie can host 180 customers during dinner times and 300 customers for business meetings. The brasserie is closed when Feyenoord plays at home. A visit to the brasserie is often combined with a stadium tour in De Kuip, or a visit during a Feyenoord training.Next to De Kuip and Feyenoord's training ground there is another, but smaller sports arena, the Topsportcentrum Rotterdam
Topsportcentrum Rotterdam
270px|thumb|TopsportcentrumTopsportcentrum Rotterdam is an indoor arena located in Rotterdam right next to the Feijenoord Stadion. The arena opened in 2000 and has a capacity of 2.500 seats and holds many sports events in various sports and levels like international World and European Championships...
. 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
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
and handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
.
De Nieuwe Kuip
A new stadium for Feyenoord is currently being designed. Already nicknamed 'De Nieuwe Kuip', it will be located a few hundred meters from the current Feijenoord Stadion, on the shores of the river Nieuwe MaasNieuwe Maas
The Nieuwe Maas distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. It ends west of the city where it meets the Oude Maas , near Vlaardingen,...
(New Meuse). Feyenoord officials have expressed a desire for the new stadium to have a similar atmosphere as the current one. The projected capacity will be 80,000–100,000. The new stadium must be completed in 2016, and could possibly also be Rotterdam's main weapon in a bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics
2028 Summer Olympics
The 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be officially known as the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad are an international athletic event that will be organized by the International Olympic Committee...
. A definitive design is expected in the following years. Unfortunately, the outlook for the new Feyenoord stadium doesn't look good as one political party from the Netherlands (PVDA) has already said it would not support the build. The PVDA considers it irresponsible to spend hundreds of millions of euros on the new stadium which they don't consider important and thus don't treat it as a priority.