Stage of light
| Stage of light | |
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| The Stadium of Light in Sunderland | |
| Data | |
| place |
 Sunderland , UK
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| Coordinates | 54 ° 54 '52.1 " N , 1 ° 23' 17.6" W |
| classification | 4th |
| owner | Sunderland AFC |
| opening | July 30, 1997 |
| First game | Sunderland AFC - Ajax Amsterdam 0-0 |
| surface | Natural grass |
| capacity | 48,707 seats |
| playing area | 105 × 68 m |
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| Events | |
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The Stadium of Light is a football stadium in Sunderland and the home of the English football club AFC Sunderland . From the UEFA , the stadium will be in the stadium category 4 classified. The venue has a capacity of 48,707 seats and was opened in 1997.
history
Planning and construction
After the events of the Hillsborough disaster on April 15, 1989, the association and the city developed plans for a renovation of Roker Park. The old stadium of Sunderland AFC consisted mostly of grandstands with standing room. A complete conversion of the standing room into seats meant a reduction in the capacity of the stadium and because of the adjoining residential buildings, the stadium could not be expanded either. So it was decided to build a new stadium and the club began to look for suitable construction sites.
In the end, the decision was made to locate an area next to the Sunderland plant of Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) . The new stadium with 30,000 spectators was announced as the " Wembley of the North". But Nissan officially appealed against the plans and the club had to look for another location for the new building. In 1995 the decision was made to use the site of the former Monkwearmouth colliery , which ceased operations on November 24, 1993. The area on the north bank of the River Wear had the advantage of being only a few hundred meters away from the old stadium and also had enough space for a possible later expansion. On November 13, 1993, the chairman of Sunderland AFC announced the award of the contract to the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation (TWDC), which then developed a plan for a 34,000-seat stadium.
The construction contract went to Ballast Wiltshier PLC, which had already built the Amsterdam Arena in the Netherlands . In June 1996 construction began on the stadium, which can now hold 40,000 spectators. The capacity was increased again in early 1997 to 42,000 spectators. Due to the simple design of the stadium, it can easily be expanded to a maximum of 64,000 spectators.
During the construction period, the stadium was not given a name, but was simply called Monkwearmouth Stadium by supporters . The current name was found in a competition. Although the name "Stadium of Light" corresponds to the translation of the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon (Luz is the district of Lisbon in which the stadium is located and translates as "light"), the "light" does not mean the light itself, but a lamp of the miners. This reminds you of the location of the stadium where thousands of fans worked. There is still a huge miner's lamp on the ticket booth in front of the stadium. And the words on the west stand ("Into the light" and "For us all") were also at the entrances to the main elevator of the Monkwearmouth Mine .
expansion
The Stadium of Light was officially opened on July 30, 1997 by Prince Andrew . In the first game, AFC Sunderland and Ajax Amsterdam separated 0-0.
In the first season, the attendance averaged 30,000, a remarkable figure as Sunderland was playing in the English second division at the time.
After promotion to the Premier League in 1999, an average of over 40,000 spectators followed the club's games and many games were sold out. In the 1999/2000 season Sunderland had the third highest attendance in England after Manchester United and Newcastle United , the only clubs with larger stadiums. Because of this huge demand, the decision was made to expand the stadium and in 2000 the extension of the north stand was completed. The stadium now has a capacity of around 49,000 spectators.
The first international match at the new stadium took place in 1999 when England played against Belgium in a friendly . There was a scandal in April 2003 during the qualifying match for EURO 2004 between England and Turkey , in which English fans chanted racist slogans . The English football association was thereupon fined 150,000 Swiss francs by UEFA .
In 2002 the stadium was to be expanded further to 55,000 seats. However, the plans were dropped because of the club's relegation to the second division. Since then, the club has been commuting between the first two leagues in England, so that there has been no stable economic basis for further expansion. However, due to the relatively central location of the stadium and the lack of parking spaces, two underground stations were built in 2002 and an extensive park-and-ride system was set up.
The University of Sunderland has held its graduation ceremonies in the stadium since 2004 .
The design of the stadium
The stadium consists of a total of four grandstands , some of which were or still are named after the names of sponsors. All the space required for the operation of a stadium is housed in the west stand. Among other things, the changing rooms, the press rooms and the administration rooms of the association are located here. The fan-favorite Black Cats Bar , named after the team's nickname, is located in the north stand .
From the outside, the stadium looks smaller than it really is. This is because the soccer field is several meters below ground level.
Each refreshment stand in the stadium is named after a famous player from Sunderland AFC or after a grandstand in the old stadium.
Web links
- Stadium on the site of the AFC Sunderland (English)
- Stadium guide , footballgroundguide.com (English)
- 360 ° view of the stadium , bbc.co.uk (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ premierleague.com: Premier League Handbook Season 2015/16 - page 31 ( PDF , English)