is an athletic stadium in Niigata

Niigata, Niigata

is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It lies on the northwest coast of Honshu, the largest island of Japan, and faces the Sea of Japan and Sado Island....

, 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...

. The stadium's capacity is 42,300. Because of the naming rights

Naming rights

In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...

 by Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc.

Tohoku Electric Power Company

is electric utility, servicing 7.6 million individual & corporate customers in 6 prefectures in Tōhoku region plus Niigata Prefecture. It provides electricity at 100 V, 50 Hz, though some area use 60 Hz....

, the name of the stadium is from March 11, 2007 until 2009. It is the home field of the J. League

J. League

The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese...

 club Albirex Niigata

Albirex Niigata

is a Japanese J. League Division 1 association football team. Despite the club's relative youth, only joining the J. League in 1999, Albirex are one of Japan's best supported teams. In 2003, while still playing in the second tier of Japanese football , Albirex attracted the best average crowd in...

.

Rugby

The stadium also sometimes hosts rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 Top League

Top League

The Top League is a professional rugby union league created by the Japan Rugby Football Union to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport in the country and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The first season was 2003-04 and featured 12 teams...

 games and on
May 18, 2008 Japan played Hong Kong here in the 2008 Asian Five Nations.

2002 World Cup

Niigata Stadium hosted 3 matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup

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...

.

First Round

• June 1: Republic of Ireland
  Republic of Ireland national football team
  The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
  
   1 - 1 Cameroon
  Cameroon national football team
  The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...
  
   (This was opening match held in Japan)
• June 3: Croatia
  Croatia national football team
  The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
  
   0 - 1 Mexico
  Mexico national football team
  The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
  
  

Round of 16

• June 15: Denmark
  Denmark national football team
  The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
  
   0 - 3 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...
  
  

See also

• Toyano Lagoon Park
  • Niigata Prefecture Sports Park
    • Niigata Prefectural Baseball Stadium
      Niigata Prefectural Baseball Stadium
      is a baseball stadium in Niigata, Niigata opened on July 1, 2009. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home of the Niigata Albirex Baseball Club. They were hosting one NPB All-Star Game in 2010....
      
      

External links

Official site