Athens Olympic Stadium

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The Olympic Stadium, is a stadium that is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is also known as the Athens Olympic Stadium, and Spiridon “Spiros” Louis Stadium, named after the man to win the first (modern) Olympic marathon race in 1896.

History

Located in the area of Maroussi in Athens, it is the major Greek stadium and hosted the athletics events and the football (soccer) final at the 2004 Summer Olympics. It also hosted the opening ceremony on August 13, 2004, and the closing ceremony on August 29, 2004. The stadium’s record attendance is 74,473 but it was configured to seat 72,000 during the Olympics, though only 56,700 seats were made publicly available for the track and field events and slightly more for the football final. The turf system consists of natural grass in modular containers which incorporate irrigation and drainage systems.

The stadium was originally designed in 1979 and built in 1980-1982. It was completed in time to host the 1982 European Championships in Athletics. It was inaugurated by the President of Greece, at the time, Konstantinos Karamanlis on 8 September 1982. It also hosted several events of the 1991 Mediterranean Games and the 1997 World Championships in Athletics, sought in order to prove that it was capable of hosting major sporting events after the failure of Athens to win the 1996 Summer Olympics. It was extensively renovated in time for the Olympics, including a controversial roof designed by Santiago Calatrava that was added atop the sidelines. The roof was completed just in time for the opening of the Games, and the stadium was then officially re-opened on July 30, 2004.

The Olympic Stadium has been used at various times as a home ground by the three major football clubs of Athens, Olympiacos Piraeus, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens. Panathinaikos has been using the stadium regularly since 2005 for its matches. In the 2007-08 season, they returned to Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, their old home ground for the clubs centenary season. For the 2008-09 season, they will return to Athens Olympic Stadium until the new stadium, the Votanikos Arena, is built.

The stadium hosted the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final on May 23, 2007 between AC Milan and Liverpool FC, which was won 2-1 by AC Milan. This stadium also hosted the 1994 UEFA Champions League Final (which was also won by AC Milan), the 1983 European Cup Final as well as the 1987 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup Final. The stadium was used as a concert venue by performers such as Tina Turner, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones and Madonna. Madonna’s concert touched the number of 75,637 viewers, something which makes the Sticky & Sweet Tour the most successful concert ever held in Greece.

Athens Olympic Stadium pics

Athens Olympic Stadium video

Stadio Olimpico

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Stadio Olimpico is the main and largest sports facility of Rome, Italy. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex on the north of the city. Assets of CONI, the structure is intended primarily for football, there are held inside of Lazio and Roma and is the seat of the final Coppa Italia, and all athletics, but occasionally hosts concerts of light music and events of various kinds. Throughout its history, it has underwent three substantial restructurings and a complete restyling.

History

During the 1960 Summer Olympics, the stadium hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the Athletics competitions. The posts were eliminated in the feet, with the result to actual capacity to 65,000 spectators. Following hosted several editions of the Ialian Championships in Athletics, the 1975 Summer Universiade (the stadium was the only venue in the Universiade), and the 1987 World Athletics Championships and still hosts the annual meeting of the Golden Gala.

The main feature of the stadium was its surprisingly low elevation from the ground, despite its considerable capacity. Te result was achieved thanks to partial sottoelevazione of the pitch, also exploiting the natural shape of a hollow ground around it. Thanks to these measures the system was integrated seamlessly with the surrounding environment, providing a very pleasing visual appearance and content. The seats were originally made of wood, later replaced by others in stone pale green. This was not a cover of stairs, with the exception of a small structure, which was added later, that in addition to cover a small part of the Tribuna Monte Mario, hosted journalists for Radiocronaca and press rooms. The only criticism in the years the stadium was over-distance curves from the game that seriously the vision of football, due to the presence of the athletics track and the need to place the perimeter of the existing structure.

Renovation

In 2007 it was engaged in a vast plan of restyling inside the stadium to conform to UEFA standards, for the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final which was disputed in Rome. The work was performed and completed in 2008, have included the establishment of standard structures, with improvements in security, the adjustment of changing rooms and press room, the complete replacement of the seats, installing new maxishermi digital high definition, I decline benches, the partial removal of barriers in the stands between Plexiglas and the playing field, and a reduction of posts, until the current capacity of 72,698. In order to increase the comfort of the audience a part of the modernisation of the stadium were the increase of the points of rest and adjustment to a toilet. These actions have allowed the Olympic Sadium classified as Elite of the stages of Europe.

Stadio Olimpico pics

Stadio Olimpico video

Olympiastadion

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The Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) is a sports stadium in Berlin. There have been two stadia on the site: the present facility, and one that was built for the aborted 1916 Summer Olympics. Both were designed by members of the same family, the first by Otto March and the second by his son Werner March.

The current Olympiastadion was originally built for the 1936 Summer Olympics in the southern part of the Reichssportfeld (today Olympiapark Berlin). During World War II, the area suffered little damage. After the war, the United Kingdom military occupation used the northern part of the Reichssportfeld as its headquarters until 1994.

Aside from its use as an Olympic stadium, the Olympiastadion has a strong footballing tradition. Historically, it is the ground of club Hertha BSC Berlin. It was also used for 3 matches in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It hosted six matches, including the final, in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was renovated for that reason. The German Cup final match is held each year at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

Olympiastadion Renovation

The inauguration celebrations of the new Olympic Stadium were carried out on July 31, 2004 and August 1, 2004. On that day, Saturday, the party began with performances from Pink, Nena (99 Red Balloons) and Daniel Barenboim. It culminated at night with the opening ceremony.

On day two, friendly matches were played between different categories of the club Hertha BSC and visiting teams. On September 8, 2004, Brazil played Germany.

The new Olympic Stadium seated 76,000, second most in Germany behind Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park (formerly Westfalenstadion).

The roof rises 68 metres over the seats and is made up of transparent panels that allow sunlight to stream in during the day. The western portion (on the Marathon Arch) is open to reveal the “Glockenturm” to the spectators.

The Olympiastadion was equipped with the latest technology in artificial illumination and sound equipment. It has 113 VIP stands, a set of restaurants, and two underground garages (for 630 cars).

The total cost of the remodeling and amplification was €242 million.

Olympiastadion pics

Olympiastadion video

Millennium Stadium

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The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and the Wales national football team but is also host to many other large scale events, such as Wales Rally Great Britain stage of the World Rally Championship, Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain, boxing and many music concerts, including Tina Turner, Madonna, The Rolling Stones and Tsunami Relief concert. It was built ready for Cardiff to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

The stadium opened in June 1999, and the first major event to be held was an international rugby union match on 26 June 1999, when Wales beat South Africa in a friendly by 29-19, before a test crowd of 29,000. It is the second largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof and was only the second stadium in Europe to have this facility. It is the fourth largest stadium in the Six Nations Championship behind Twickenham, Stade de France and Croke Park, which is the largest.

Millennium Stadium Features

The all-seater stadium has the capacity for 74,500 supporters and features a retractable roof, only the second stadium of its type in Europe, and the largest such stadium in the world with this feature, by capacity. Additional seating is sometimes added for special events such as a rugby Test against the New Zealand All Blacks, or for the FA Cup Final. The current record attendance is 74,576, recorded at Wales’ 30–15 victory over Scotland in the 2008 Six Nations Championship on 9 February 2008.

The natural grass turf is a made up of a modular system installed by GreenTech ITM. It features built in irrigation and drainage. The pitch itself is laid on top of some 7,412 pallets which can be moved so the stadium can be used for concerts, exhibitions and other events.

The four ends of the ground are called; the North Stand, the West Stand, the South Stand and the BT Stand (east). The South Stand was previously known as the Hyder Stand, until Hyder plc was sold. The stadium has 3 tiers of seating with the exception of the North Stand, which has 2 tiers. The lower tier holds approximately 23,500 spectators, the middle tier holding 18,000 and the upper tier holding 33,000 spectators.

Events

The stadium has also been used for a variety of musical events, the most famous being the Manic Street Preachers concert held on Millennium Eve, and, on the following day, a recording of the BBC’s Songs of Praise, which attracted an attendance of 60,000. Tina Turner performed a sold-out concert at the stadium during her highly successful Twenty Four Seven Tour in 2000.] At the end of January 2005, the stadium hosted a tsunami relief concert in aid of the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, with Eric Clapton headlining the event. The stadium has also been host to Madonna on two occasions, the first in July 2006 when she opened the UK leg of her Confessions Tour, and most recently in August 2008 when she kicked off her Sticky & Sweet Tour at the stadium. Other performers who have played at the stadium include Robbie Williams, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, R.E.M., and The Police. As well, in late 2005 the stadium welcomed rock band Oasis during their Don’t Believe the Truth Tour and will again in their summer of 2009 stadia tour. In 2008 the stadium hosted Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as part of their 2008 summer tour promoting Springsteen’s 23rd album Magic, along with Neil Diamond. U2 will close the European leg of their U2 360° Tour in the stadium on 22 August 2009.

Millennium Stadium Pics

Millennium Stadium Video

Atatürk Olympic Stadium

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Atatürk Olympic Stadium located in İkitelli, a district in the western outskirts of Istanbul, is the largest-capacity stadium of Turkey. The stadium takes its name from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Its construction began in 1999 and was completed in 2002. It was built for Turkey’s Olympic Games bid and cost about €350 million.

With its 75,486 (all-seater) capacity and Olympic size, it was granted the “5-star sports complex” title by the UEFA in 2004, enabling it to host the finals of UEFA events. The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final between A.C. Milan and Liverpool F.C. was played on May 25, 2005, at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. The stadium is also certified by the IAAF and IOC as a first-class venue for track and field, and has hosted several European athletic competitions.

Galatasaray SK played its home games at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium during the 2003-2004 football season, due to the renovation of their own venue, the Ali Sami Yen Stadium, and this was criticized by other teams. Galatasaray eventually returned back to Ali Sami Yen for the 2004-2005 season, but played some of its 2006-2007 UEFA Champions League games at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. Sivasspor also played some of its Süper Lig home games at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium due to the bad weather conditions in their original hometown stadium.

Renovation

From 2002 to 2005 the stadium had a capacity of 80,597 (all-seater). This was later reduced to 75,486 (all-seater) by removing the seats from where it was not possible to see the entire pitch, prior to the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final game between AC Milan and Liverpool FC, which was played on May 25, 2005.

Atatürk Olympic Stadium pics

Atatürk Olympic Stadium video

Old Trafford

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Old Trafford is an all-seater football stadium in the Trafford borough of Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Premier League club Manchester United. With space for 76,212 spectators, Old Trafford has the second-largest capacity of any English football stadium after Wembley Stadium, the third-largest of any stadium in the United Kingdom, and the eleventh-largest in Europe. It is one of two stadia in the country to have been given a five-star rating by UEFA. The stadium is approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from Old Trafford Cricket Ground and the adjacent Manchester Metrolink tram station.

The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Dreams by Bobby Charlton, has been United’s permanent residence since 1910, with the exception of an eight-year absence from 1941 to 1949, following the bombing of the stadium in the Second World War. During this period, the club shared Maine Road with local rivals, Manchester City. The ground underwent several expansions in the 1990s and 2000s, most notably the addition of extra tiers to the North, West and East stands which served to return the ground almost to its original capacity of 80,000. Future expansion is likely to involve the addition of a second tier to the South Stand, which would raise the capacity to over 90,000. The stadium’s current record attendance was recorded in 1939, when 76,962 spectators watched the FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town.

Future

United continue to harbour plans to increase the capacity of the stadium further, with the next stage pointing to a redevelopment of the South Stand, which, unlike the rest of the stadium, remains single tier. A replication of the North Stand development and North-East and -West Quadrants would see the stadium’s capacity rise to an estimated 95,000, which would give it a greater capacity than Wembley Stadium. Any such development is likely to cost around £100m, due to the proximity of the railway line that runs adjacent to the stadium, and the corresponding need to build over it and thus purchase up to 50 houses on the other side of the railway. Nevertheless, the Manchester United group property manager confirmed that expansion plans are in the pipeline - linked to profits made from the club’s property holdings around Manchester - saying “There is a strategic plan for the stadium… It is not our intention to stand still”. One criticism of the plans, however, is that increasing the height of the South Stand would further reduce the amount of light coming onto the pitch, which has caused problems in similarly large stadia – such as Wembley Stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the San Siro; according to Alex Ferguson, the developments on the other stands have already caused problems.

It has been suggested that, should such an expansion take place, Old Trafford could be used instead of Wembley for big matches such as England internationals - in order to increase the ability of fans in the north of the country to watch England play – and FA Cup semi-finals - to maintain the prestige of the national stadium for the final.

Old Trafford Records

The highest attendance recorded at Old Trafford was 76,962 for an FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town on 25 March 1939. However, this was before the ground was converted to an all-seater stadium, allowing many more people to fit into the stadium. Old Trafford’s record attendance as an all-seater stadium currently stands at 76,098, set at a Premier League game between Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers on 31 March 2007. This is also the Premier League’s record attendance. Old Trafford’s record attendance for a non-competitive game is 73,738, set on 1 August 2007 for a pre-season friendly between Manchester United and Internazionale. The lowest recorded attendance at a competitive game at Old Trafford in the post-War era was 11,968, as United beat Fulham 3–0 on 29 April 1950. However, on 7 May 1921, the ground hosted a Second Division match between Stockport County and Leicester City for which the official attendance was just 13. This figure is slightly misleading as the ground also contained many of the 10,000 spectators who had stayed behind after watching the match between Manchester United and Derby County earlier that day.

The highest average attendance at Old Trafford over a league season was 75,826, set in the 2006–07 season. The greatest total attendance at Old Trafford came two seasons later, as 2,197,429 people watched Manchester United win the Premier League for the third year in a row, the League Cup, and reach the final of the UEFA Champions League and the semi-finals of the FA Cup. The lowest average attendance at Old Trafford came in the 1930–31 season, when an average of 11,685 spectators watched each game.

Old Trafford pics

Old Trafford video

Luzhniki Stadium

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The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium, is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium. The name Luzhniki derives from the swampy neighborhood where it was built, translating roughly as “puddles.”

Recent History

The Luzhniki Stadium was chosen by UEFA to host the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final won by Manchester United who beat Chelsea in the first all English Champions League Final on May 21. Prior to the match some skeptics questioned the state of the pitch and also the ability of Russian authorities to keep order amongst the traveling British fans, however the match passed incident free and a British Embassy in Moscow spokesman said, “The security and logistical arrangements put in place by the Russian authorities have been first-rate, as has been their cooperation with their visiting counterparts from the UK.”

The stadium also makes an appearance in the Russian film Night Watch, during the power shut-down scene when the power station goes into overload. The stadium is seen with a match taking place, and then the lights go out.

Luzhniki Stadium pics

Luzhniki Stadium video

Georgia Dome

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The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It has been the home stadium for the Atlanta Falcons since 1992, and is owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center. Until 1999 upon the opening of the Millennium Dome in London, the Georgia Dome was the largest domed structure in the world.

The Dome is accessible by rail via MARTA’s East-West and Proctor Creek lines, which service the nearby Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center and Vine City stations.

Construction

The Georgia Dome was completed in 1992 at a cost of $214 million (US), which came from the Georgia General Assembly, making it one of the largest state-funded construction projects in state history. It seats 71,228 for football, and can hold approximately: 75,000 for concerts, 53,000 for basketball when the dome is fully open and 40,000 for basketball and gymnastics when the dome is sectioned off (one half closed off by a large curtain). The record for overall attendance at the Georgia Dome is 75,892 for the 2008 SEC Championship Game in football.

The structure is located on 9.19 acres (37,200 m²) of land; the dome has a height of 270.67 feet (82.5 m), a structure length of 744.75 feet (227 m), a structure width of 606.96 feet (185 m), and a total floor area of 102,149.51 ft² (9,490 m²). The dome is the largest cable-supported dome in the world. Its roof is made of teflon-coated fiberglass fabric (which is strong and lightweight) and has an area of 374,584.08 ft² (34,800 m²). From its completion until the December 31, 1999 opening of the 20-acre (81,000 m2) Millennium Dome in London, it was the largest domed structure of any type in the world, but still remains the largest indoor sporting facility in the United States.

Georgia Dome pics

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