Sapporo Dome
Encyclopedia
The is a stadium
located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo
, Japan
, and is primarily used for baseball
and football. It is the home field of the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
and the football club Consadole Sapporo
.
The Sapporo Dome opened in 2001 with 41,580 seats. This stadium hosted 3 games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup
, Germany
vs Saudi Arabia
, Argentina
vs England
and Italy
vs Ecuador
; all three matches were in the first round.
The Dome hosted the opening ceremonies to the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
on February 22 and hosted the closing ceremonies of the championships on March 4. It also made history as being the first venue where both indoor and nighttime skiing events took place for the first time on a world championship or Winter Olympic Games
level with competitions in the cross country skiing sprints (men's and women's individual, and men's and women's team) and the cross country portion of the 7.5 km sprint event in the nordic combined
. In order to generate snow, the stadium used its turf conversion hovering system to facilitate the snow making process for the skiing competitions. The opening ceremony featured Maki Ohguro
, a local artist from Sapporo, Japanese drum demonstrations and other performances paying tributes to local customs and traditions. For the championships, seating capacity
was reduced to 30,000.
The Dome was used as a super special stage in Rally Japan in both 2008
and 2010
.
In late 2009, renovations with the possibility of increasing the capacity up to 53,796 were finished. These renovations also included space for more food outlets, an extra video screen, two extra changing rooms (to accommodate matches in the NFL World Series) and further media area as part of new office buildings attached to the stadium. As part of these renovations, the surface area of the arena itself was decreased to allow for more seating.
games are held on a grass pitch that slides into and out of the stadium as needed. Some other stadiums that feature sliding pitches include the Veltins-Arena
in Germany
, GelreDome
in the Netherlands
, and University of Phoenix Stadium
in the United States
; however, unlike these three facilities, the Sapporo Dome has a fixed roof.
Conversion from baseball to football begins with the storage of the baseball field's artificial turf. Once finished, a set of lower bowl bleachers rotate from an angled position for baseball to a parallel position. A set of main bowl seats on one end of the dome
then retracts, and the football pitch is slid into the stadium. The lower bowl is then rotated 90 degrees. Conversion from football to baseball occurs in reverse. Due to the retraction of seats, the Stadium has a capacity of only 55,000 for baseball games.
:
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...
located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo
Toyohira-ku, Sapporo
is one of the 10 wards in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The ward was established in 1972, when the Sapporo Olympics was held in Sapporo. Four other wards in Sapporo are bounded on Toyohira-ku.- Overview :...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and is primarily used for baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and football. It is the home field of the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at the Sapporo Dome. The Fighters also host a select number of regional home games in cities across Hokkaidō,...
and the football club Consadole Sapporo
Consadole Sapporo
is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 2. The team is located in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaidō....
.
History
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
vs Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia national football team
Saudi Arabia national football team is the national team of Saudi Arabia and is controlled by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation...
, Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
vs England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
and 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...
vs Ecuador
Ecuador national football team
The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. They generally play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, but often play friendlies in other stadiums around the country...
; all three matches were in the first round.
The Dome hosted the opening ceremonies to the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 took place February 22 - March 4, 2007 in Sapporo, Japan. This was the second time this city has hosted these championships, doing so previously at the 1972 Winter Olympics, having been voted at the 43rd FIS World Congress in Portorož, Slovenia on June 6,...
on February 22 and hosted the closing ceremonies of the championships on March 4. It also made history as being the first venue where both indoor and nighttime skiing events took place for the first time on a world championship or Winter Olympic Games
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...
level with competitions in the cross country skiing sprints (men's and women's individual, and men's and women's team) and the cross country portion of the 7.5 km sprint event in the nordic combined
Nordic combined
The Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in both cross-country skiing and ski jumping.- History :While Norwegian soldiers are known to have been competing in Nordic skiing since the 19th century, the first major competition in Nordic combined was held in 1892 in Oslo at the...
. In order to generate snow, the stadium used its turf conversion hovering system to facilitate the snow making process for the skiing competitions. The opening ceremony featured Maki Ohguro
Maki Ohguro
is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter. She is from Sapporo in Hokkaidō.- Introduction :In 1989, she passed the '3rd BAD' audition. Her famous songs are "DA・KA・RA", "Chotto", and so on... Her second single "DA・ka・RA" sold 1.1 million copies and won the 'Japan Record Grand Prix' newcomer award of...
, a local artist from Sapporo, Japanese drum demonstrations and other performances paying tributes to local customs and traditions. For the championships, seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
was reduced to 30,000.
The Dome was used as a super special stage in Rally Japan in both 2008
2008 Rally Japan
The 2008 Rally Japan was the fourteenth and penultimate round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The event saw Sébastien Loeb clinch his fifth consecutive world drivers title with his drive to a third place finish. The event was won by Mikko Hirvonen in a Ford Focus, who led the event...
and 2010
2010 Rally Japan
The 2010 Rally Japan, was the 10th round of the 2010 World Rally Championship season. The 26 stage gravel rally took place on 9 – 12 September 2010 and was based in the city of Sapporo...
.
In late 2009, renovations with the possibility of increasing the capacity up to 53,796 were finished. These renovations also included space for more food outlets, an extra video screen, two extra changing rooms (to accommodate matches in the NFL World Series) and further media area as part of new office buildings attached to the stadium. As part of these renovations, the surface area of the arena itself was decreased to allow for more seating.
Retractable surface
The Dome is interesting in that it switches between two entirely different surfaces. Baseball games are played on an artificial turf field, while footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
games are held on a grass pitch that slides into and out of the stadium as needed. Some other stadiums that feature sliding pitches include the Veltins-Arena
Veltins-Arena
Veltins-Arena is a football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened in 2001, as the new home ground for German Bundesliga club Schalke 04....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, GelreDome
Gelredome
The GelreDome is a football stadium in the city of Arnhem, in the Netherlands. It serves as the home of the football club Vitesse. It was opened on 25 March 1998, featuring a retractable roof, as well as a convertible pitch, that can be retracted, when unused during concerts or other events held at...
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 University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the annual Fiesta Bowl...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; however, unlike these three facilities, the Sapporo Dome has a fixed roof.
Conversion from baseball to football begins with the storage of the baseball field's artificial turf. Once finished, a set of lower bowl bleachers rotate from an angled position for baseball to a parallel position. A set of main bowl seats on one end of the dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
then retracts, and the football pitch is slid into the stadium. The lower bowl is then rotated 90 degrees. Conversion from football to baseball occurs in reverse. Due to the retraction of seats, the Stadium has a capacity of only 55,000 for baseball games.
Details
- Name: Sapporo Dome
- Capacity: 41,484 / 40,476
- Home Teams: Consadole SapporoConsadole Sapporois a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 2. The team is located in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaidō....
, Hokkaido Nippon Ham FightersHokkaido Nippon Ham FightersThe are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at the Sapporo Dome. The Fighters also host a select number of regional home games in cities across Hokkaidō,... - Completed: March 2001
- Location: Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan
- Building Area: 53,800 m² Total Floor Area:(Open Arena) 92,453 m²
- Roof Diameter: 245 m Stand Inclination: Max. 30° angle
- Architect: Hiroshi Hara
See also
Other domed stadiums in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
:
- Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan DomeFukuoka DomeThe is a baseball field, located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Built in 1993, the stadium can accommodate 35,695 spectators and was Japan's first stadium with a retractable roof....
in Fukuoka (retractable roof) - Nagoya DomeNagoya DomeNagoya Dome , constructed in 1997, is a baseball field, located in the city of Nagoya, Japan. The dome has the capacity to seat up to 38,414 people . It is an example of a geodesic dome....
in Nagoya - Kyocera Dome OsakaOsaka DomeOsaka Dome is a baseball stadium located in Osaka, Japan. Beginning in 1997, the stadium was the home field of the Kintetsu Buffaloes. In 2005, the stadium became one of the homes of the Orix Buffaloes, a result of the merger between the Orix Blue Wave and Kintetsu Buffaloes. Prior to the Osaka...
in Osaka - Ōita StadiumOita StadiumŌita Bank Dome is a multi-purpose stadium in the city of Ōita in Ōita Prefecture on Kyushu Island in Japan.The stadium is currently called , or as an abbreviated form, by naming rights. It was formerly called as sponsored by the Kyushu Oil until early 2010. It is primarily used for soccer, and is...
or "Big Eye" in Oita Prefecture (retractable roof) - Tokyo DomeTokyo DomeTokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...