Amsterdam Arena is a
stadiumA 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
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
,
NetherlandsThe 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 is the largest stadium in the nation and it was built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost of
€The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
140 million, and was officially opened on 14 August 1996. It has been used for association football,
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
,
concertA concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, and other events. The stadium has a
retractable roofA retractable roof is a kinetic architectural element used in many sports venues, in which a roof made of a suitable material can readily be mechanically deployed from some retracted or open position into a closed or extended position that completely covers the field of play and spectator areas...
combined with a
grassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
surface. It has a
capacitySeating 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...
of 52,342 seats during football matches and 68,000 places during concerts if a centre-stage setup is used (the stage in the middle of the pitch); for end-stage concerts, the capacity is 50,000, and for concerts where the stage is located in the east side of the stadium, the capacity is 35,000. It held UEFA five-star stadium status which was superseded by a new system of classification. It has been announced that the Amsterdam Arena will host the
2013 UEFA Europa League FinalThe 2013 UEFA Europa League Final will be played at the Amsterdam ArenA, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 15 May 2013.The winners will play against the winners of the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup.-See also:...
.
The stadium is the home of the association football club AFC Ajax (1996–
present) and was the home of the now-defunct American football club
Amsterdam AdmiralsThe Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team in NFL Europe based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.-History:The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to be based entirely in Europe...
(1996–2007). It was one of the stadiums used during Euro 2000. Both international and Dutch artists gave concerts in the ArenA, including
Celine DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
,
MadonnaMadonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
,
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
,
André HazesAndré Gerardus Hazes was a Dutch singer in a genre called levenslied which is a form of emotional folk music about everyday life sung in the Dutch language. André Hazes was one of the most successful singers in this genre...
and
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. Dance event
SensationSensation is an indoor electronic dance music event which originated in the Netherlandsand organized by ID&T. The original event, which ran exclusively in the Amsterdam ArenA for a period of five years until 2005, is now located throughout Poland, Spain, Austria, Chile, Germany, Belgium, Hungary,...
is held in the stadium every year.
History
Amsterdam was one of six cities that bid to host the
1992 Summer OlympicsThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
. In 1986, a new Olympic stadium was designed, with a football field and an athletics track. It was to be built in the area of Strandvliet in
Amsterdam ZuidoostAmsterdam-Zuidoost is one of fifteen boroughs of the city of Amsterdam. It consists of four residential areas—Bijlmermeer, Venserpolder, Gaasperdam and Driemond—as well as the Amstel III/Bullewijk Business Park and the ArenA Boulevard area.Amsterdam-Zuidoost has approximately 86,000...
. After Amsterdam lost the bid to
BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in October 1986, the plans for the new stadium were abandoned. In 1987, the Stichting Amsterdam Sportstad (
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: "Amsterdam Sports City Foundation") was established, which made new plans for a sports stadium with an all-seated capacity of 55,000. In 1990, a new design was made based on both previous designs, with a football field, an athletics track, and completely covered by a roof. By this time, AFC Ajax needed a new stadium, because their old stadium,
De MeerDe Meer is the name of the former stadium of AFC Ajax. It was opened in 1934 as a result of the club's former stadium being too small. Upon completion, it could hold 22,000 spectators, but accommodating up to 29,500 at its maximum...
, no longer had sufficient capacity.
Once more, the design was altered – the athletics track was removed, the capacity was reduced to 50,000 seats, and the fixed roof was replaced by a
retractable roofA retractable roof is a kinetic architectural element used in many sports venues, in which a roof made of a suitable material can readily be mechanically deployed from some retracted or open position into a closed or extended position that completely covers the field of play and spectator areas...
. In 1992, the Government of Amsterdam authorised the plans for the stadium with a
Transferium where people could transfer from their car to various forms of public transportation. In 1993, the Government of Amsterdam changed the development plan of the location and gave a permit to build the stadium.
The first pile of the
deep foundationA deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...
of the stadium was placed on 26 November 1993. The construction work, undertaken by Ballast Nedam and Royal BAM Group, would take almost three years. The highest point of the building was reached on 24 February 1995, after the roof construction was raised. The fly-over from the public road to the parking facilities was opened on 13 March 1996. The Amsterdam ArenA received 180,000 visitors during the construction work, until the stadium was closed from 1 July 1996 until the opening ceremony. The Amsterdam ArenA was officially opened on 14 August 1996 by
Queen BeatrixBeatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
.
The Queen opened the Amsterdam ArenA by making a curtain fall inside the stadium. This revealed the world's largest painting
De Zee (English:
The Sea) of 80 × 126 metres. Two-dimensional ships were placed on the sea representing the clubs in the
EredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
.
Tina TurnerTina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
opened the stadium with three concerts with 160.000 people in the arena, from her world breaking
Wildest Dreams TourThe Wildest Dreams Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Tina Turner. The tour supported her eighth studio album, Wildest Dreams. The tour is Turner's biggest outing to date, performing over 250 dates in Europe, North America and Australasia—surpassing her Break Every Rule Tour...
.
Trijntje OosterhuisJudith Katrijntje "Trijntje" Oosterhuis is a Dutch pop and jazz singer.-Early life:Judith Katrijntje Oosterhuis was born on 5 February 1973, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands...
sang the
hymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
De Zee, composed for the opening ceremony by
John EwbankJohn Ewbank is a British-Dutch composer, lyricist and record producer.He wrote/produced a record number of eighteen #1 Dutch Top 40 hit singles, of which fourteen were for Marco Borsato, for whom he has been producing and writing since 1994. They sold over four million albums together in the Benelux...
. An eight-day torch relay with 375 runners over 1400 kilometer through the Netherlands reached the stadium. The first runner was Johan Cruijff starting in the old stadium De Meer, the last runner was
Frank RijkaardFranklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch football manager of Dutch and Surinamese descent and former player. Rijkaard has played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and Milan, and represented his national side 73 times, scoring 10 goals. In his coaching career, he has been at the helm of the Dutch national side,...
arriving in the new stadium Amsterdam ArenA. After the grass was revealed and the roof opened, an inaugural football match was played between AFC Ajax and
MilanAssociazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
.
The construction of the Amsterdam ArenA cost
€The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
140 million.
The stadium combines a retractable roof with a grass surface. This caused some problems in the beginning: the grass rolls would not grow in the shade of the open roof and had to be replaced up to four times a year.
Building and facilities
The architect is Rob Schuurman (Holland).
Its all-seated capacity is 52,342. During music concerts, the stadium has a maximum capacity of 68,000 visitors.
The parking capacity of the
Transferium is 500 cars(inside); there are additional 12,000 spots outside.
The Amsterdam Arena is one of two stadiums in the Netherlands that is rated with
five starsUEFA stadium categories are categories for football stadia laid out in the UEFA Stadium Infrastructure Regulations. Using these regulations, stadiums are rated as category one, two, three, or four in ascending ranking order. These categories replaced the previous method of ranking stadiums on one...
by
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
, the other being the
Feijenoord StadionThe Feijenoord Stadion, better known by its nickname De Kuip , is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands that was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the area "Feijenoord" in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same name .Capacity at completion: 64,000. Maximum capacity: 69,000...
in
RotterdamRotterdam 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...
.
The Ajax Museum is located in the stadium, which shows the more than 100 years of history of Ajax.
The nearest train station is Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena.
Sport events
Association football
The inaugural match was between the home team Ajax and
MilanAssociazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, which ended with a 3–0 win by Milan. The first goal was scored by
Dejan SavićevićDejan Savićević , is a Montenegrin former football player and is the president of the Montenegrin FA....
.
The stadium is the home of AFC Ajax in the
EredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
. The
1998 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 1998 UEFA Champions League Final took place at the Amsterdam ArenA in Amsterdam on 20 May 1998. Spanish club Real Madrid defeated Italian side Juventus 1–0 to clinch their seventh European title, the sixth being in 1966.-Match details:...
was played in the Arena. It was also one of the stadiums in UEFA Euro 2000.
After the death of
Rinus MichelsMarinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels OON was a Dutch association football player and coach...
in 2005, Ajax fans tried to convince the stadium's board to rebrand the stadium as the Rinus Michels Stadium. The board refused. At every Ajax home game, however, fans bring a large banner displaying the words 'Rinus Michels Stadion'.
American football
The stadium was also the home of the
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team
Amsterdam AdmiralsThe Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team in NFL Europe based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.-History:The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to be based entirely in Europe...
of the
NFL EuropeNFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...
, until the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) ended its European competition in June 2007. They played over 50 matches in the stadium from 1997 to 2007.
World Bowl IXWorld Bowl IX was the first World Bowl that didn't have the year that it was played in the title. It was the 2001 edition of NFL Europe's championship game. The site was the Amsterdam ArenA in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. On June 30, 2001, the 6-4 Berlin Thunder took on the 8-2 Barcelona Dragons...
was played at the ArenA in 2001, when the
Berlin ThunderThe Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe, which was a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental league for the National Football League. Most of the players were young American professional players assigned by NFL teams to receive...
defeated the
Barcelona DragonsThe Barcelona Dragons were a team originally in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. Their home field in Barcelona was the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuic, the 1992 Olympic Stadium, and later the Mini Estadi. The Dragons were successful on the field, making it...
.
Music events
Despite frequent complaints about the acoustics of the Arena, concerts are often held in the stadium.
Tina TurnerTina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
was the first to perform at the arena during her
Wildest Dreams TourThe Wildest Dreams Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Tina Turner. The tour supported her eighth studio album, Wildest Dreams. The tour is Turner's biggest outing to date, performing over 250 dates in Europe, North America and Australasia—surpassing her Break Every Rule Tour...
, with more than 157,000 people attending the three sold-out concerts on 6-7-8 September 1996.
In October 2008, the stadium was home to Dutch children's group
Kinderen voor KinderenKinderen voor Kinderen is a Dutch children's choir maintained by public broadcaster VARA. The name translates as "children for children".Since 1980 the choir has released one album of new children's songs each year, and is probably the only act from the 1980s with consecutive albums in the top 40...
. The ArenA was selected because of the seating requirement for the groups new format of concert called the "Mega Spektakel". The group had two concerts in the stadium on the same day due to high volume of people, mostly children that attended.
The stadium is also host to dance event
SensationSensation is an indoor electronic dance music event which originated in the Netherlandsand organized by ID&T. The original event, which ran exclusively in the Amsterdam ArenA for a period of five years until 2005, is now located throughout Poland, Spain, Austria, Chile, Germany, Belgium, Hungary,...
.
External links