Independence Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium

Multi-purpose stadium

Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...

 in Lusaka

Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...

, Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

. It was originally built in the mid-1960s for use in hosting the country's independence celebrations. It is currently used mostly for football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 matches. The stadium holds 30,000 people.
In 2004, the stadium was closed by the then national sports minister citing safety concerns due to the age and status of the building. The order was repealed in 2005, though safety concerns remained. As of 2007, the aging stadium is slated to undergo renovations to bring its structure and facilities up to internationally accepted standards as well as deal with its various safety issues. The stadium's west grandstand was demolished in late 2007.

A new 70,000-seat stadium, currently referred to as New Lusaka Stadium

New Lusaka Stadium

New Lusaka Stadium is a description of a new multi-purpose stadium in Lusaka, Zambia, that was in the planning stages until Zambia backed out of hosting the 2011 All-Africa Games in 2009. It would have been used mostly for football matches and hosted some events for the 2011 All-Africa Games. The...

, would have been built next to the Independence Stadium for Lusaka's hosting of the 2011 All-Africa Games

2011 All-Africa Games

The 10th All-Africa Games took place between September 3–18, 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique. Maputo's hosting marked only the third time the Games was held in the southern part of the continent.-Host awarding:...

before Lusaka withdrew its hosting duties due to lack of funds. The games were given to Maputo.