The Johan Cruyff Arena (Dutch: Johan Cruijff Arena [ˈjoːɦɑŋ ˈkrœyf aːˌreːnaː]; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost equivalent to €140 million,[3] it is the largest stadium in the country. The stadium was previously known as the Amsterdam Arena (stylised as Amsterdam ArenA) until the 2018–19 football season, when it was officially renamed in honour of Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff who died in 2016.[4][5][6]
“De Arena“ (The Arena) | |
![]() | |
![]() | |
Full name | Johan Cruijff ArenA |
---|---|
Former names | Amsterdam ArenA (1996–2018) Stadion Amsterdam (1993–1995) |
Location | ArenA Boulevard 1, 1101 AX Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Coordinates | 52°18′51″N 4°56′31″E / 52.31417°N 4.94194°E |
Public transit | Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA station, Strandvliet metro station |
Owner | Gemeente Amsterdam Stadion Amsterdam N.V. |
Executive suites | 76[2] |
Capacity | 55,865 (2024)[1] 51,200 (Original)[2] 71,000 (Music concerts) |
Record attendance | 55,076 Ajax - Excelsior Rotterdam 24 April 2024 |
Field size | 105 x 68 m |
Surface | PlayMaster Hybrid Grass by Tarkett Sports |
Construction | |
Built | 1993–1996 |
Opened | 14 August 1996 |
Construction cost | €140 million |
Tenants | |
Football AFC Ajax (1996–present) Netherlands national football team selected matches (1996-present) AFC Ajax Women selected matches (2015-present) American Football Amsterdam Admirals (1997–2007) |
It was one of the stadiums used during UEFA Euro 2000, and also held the 1998 UEFA Champions League Final and 2013 UEFA Europa League Final. The stadium also hosted three group stage matches and one match in the round of 16 of the UEFA Euro 2020.
Both international and Dutch artists have given concerts in the stadium, including Tina Turner, Coldplay, U2, Take That, Celine Dion, Madonna, Michael Jackson, André Hazes, David Bowie, AC/DC, Justin Timberlake, One Direction, the Rolling Stones, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Armin van Buuren. The dance event Sensation was held in the stadium every year, up until the final edition in 2017.
The stadium has a retractable roof and a grass surface. Since 2022, the stadium has a capacity of 55,865[1] during football matches, increased from 54,990.[2] The stadium has a capacity of 68,000 during music concerts if a center-stage setup is used (the stage in the middle of the pitch); for end-stage music concerts, the capacity is 50,000; and for music concerts for which 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.
History
editAmsterdam was one of six cities that bid to host the 1992 Summer Olympics. 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 Zuidoost. After Amsterdam lost the bid to Barcelona in October 1986, the plans for the new stadium were abandoned. In 1987, the Stichting Amsterdam Sportstad (English: "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, as their previous home ground, De Meer, was far too small for most of Ajax's games. Since the late 1960s, Ajax had moved its most important games to Olympisch Stadion.[7] Indeed, from the 1930s onward, Ajax had played most of their European fixtures and midweek night games at Olympisch Stadion.
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 roof. 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.[7]
The first pile of the deep foundation of the stadium was placed on 26 November 1993. The construction work, undertaken by Ballast Nedam and Royal BAM Group,[7] took 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 stadium received 180,000 visitors during the construction work, until the stadium was closed from 1 July 1996 until the opening ceremony.[7] The stadium was officially opened on 14 August 1996 by Queen Beatrix.[8]
At the grand opening, the queen made a curtain fall inside the stadium. This revealed the world's largest painting De Zee (English: The Sea) of 80 by 126 meters (262 ft × 413 ft). Two-dimensional ships were placed on the sea representing the clubs in the Eredivisie. Trijntje Oosterhuis sang the hymn "De Zee", composed for the opening ceremony by John Ewbank. An eight-day torch relay with 375 runners over 1400 km through the Netherlands reached the stadium. The first runner was Johan Cruyff starting in the old stadium De Meer, and the last runner was Frank Rijkaard arriving in the new stadium. After the grass was revealed and the roof opened, an inaugural football friendly was played between AFC Ajax and Milan, which Ajax lost 0–3.[citation needed] Tina Turner opened the stadium with three concerts with 160,000 people, from her world breaking Wildest Dreams Tour.
The construction of the stadium cost an equivalent of €140 million[3] (at the time, the currency of the Netherlands was the Dutch guilder).
The stadium combines a retractable roof with a grass surface. This caused some problems in the beginning: the turf's grass would not grow in the shade of the open roof and had to be replaced up to four times a year.[citation needed]
Exterior renovation
editIn September 2015, plans were presented to renovate the stadium's facade.[9] The renovation should provide better quality and service to visitors by widening the walkway rings around the stadium, creating more room for the visitors and for new facilities (the number of seats remains the same). As a result, the outside of the stadium transforms from a concave shape to a convex shape, drastically altering its appearance. The renovation was completed in 2020, when four matches of the UEFA Euro 2020 championship were played in the Arena.
Construction works started in June 2017.[10] The first phase is to renovate the east side of the stadium, where construction of the new facade was completed in April 2018.[11]
Name change
editOn 25 April 2017, it was announced that the Amsterdam Arena would be renamed to "Johan Cruijff Arena" in memory of Ajax legend Johan Cruyff.[12][13] Later that year, on 9 August, it was stated that the name change would take place on 25 October 2017.[14][15] However, this was postponed as that date proved to be infeasible due to the many matters that needed to be settled, such as arranging compensation for possible loss of income, transferring part of the shares from the municipality of Amsterdam to Ajax and having a discussion with the Cruyff family.[16][17]
On 5 April 2018, it was announced that the stadium would officially change name at the start of the 2018–19 football season.[4][5] The stadium's new logo was revealed on 25 April 2018, the birthday of Johan Cruyff.[18] According to the spokeswoman of Cruyff's family, the original Dutch spelling of his name (Cruijff) was chosen for the stadium's official name "to stay close to the Dutch Johan".[6] The 2018–19 football season started in August 2018.[19]
Building and facilities
editThe stadium's original architect is the Dutchman Rob Schuurman. The original all-seated capacity was 54,990.[2] After the 2019–20 season, but before Euro 2020, capacity was expanded by 660.[1][20] The final increased capacity after the 2017-2021 renovation project is 56,120,[1] an increase of 1,130. The original capacity during music concerts – the stadium's maximum capacity – is 68,000 visitors.[3] The parking capacity of the Transferium is 500 cars (inside); there are an additional 12,000 parking spots outside.[3]
The Johan Cruyff Arena is one of two stadiums in the Netherlands that is rated as Category 4 by UEFA, the other being the Feijenoord Stadion in Rotterdam.[21]
The Ajax Museum is located in the stadium, which shows Ajax's more than 120 years of history.[22]
The nearest train and subway (metro) station is Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena. The metro lines 50 and 54 (Amsterdam Central Station and city center) stop here.
Sporting events
editAssociation football
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2022) |
The stadium is the home of AFC Ajax in the Eredivisie and European matches.
The inaugural match on 14 August 1996 was a friendly between the home team Ajax and AC Milan, which ended with a 3–0 win for Milan. The first goal was scored by Dejan Savićević. The first Ajax goal was scored in the first competition match against NAC Breda by Kiki Musampa.
The 1998 UEFA Champions League Final when Real Madrid defeated Juventus by 1–0, was played in the stadium. It was also one of the venues in UEFA Euro 2000.
And the stadium was the host of the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final, when Chelsea defeated Benfica by 2–1.
It hosts often Dutch national team's international matches, though the Netherlands does not have one dedicated national stadium for football.
Since a friendly game in 2015, the stadium hosts regularly matches since 2023 of the AFC Ajax Women. The Klassieker home game against Feyenoord of that year was the first, with an attendance of 33,742 visitors. A year later the same game was played in the stadium aswel. And also the home games of the group stage of the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League and the Quarter-final home game against Chelsea Women were venued at the stadium. The game against Chelsea saw a record attendance of 35,991 spectators for a women’s football game in the Netherlands.
In addition, the stadium hosted pre-season friendlies of Ajax 1 (men) or in the past aswel tournaments, like the Amsterdam Tournament or games of Ajax's reserve team.
Euro 2000
editDate | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|
11 June 2000 | Netherlands | 1–0 | Czech Republic | Group D |
18 June 2000 | Slovenia | 1–2 | Spain | Group C |
21 June 2000 | France | 2–3 | Netherlands | Group D |
24 June 2000 | Turkey | 0–2 | Portugal | Quarter-finals |
29 June 2000 | Netherlands | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (1–3 p) |
Italy | Semi-finals |
Euro 2020
editThe stadium hosted three group stage matches and one round of 16 match at the UEFA Euro 2020, which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. Also there was a smaller attendance because of this.
Date | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | Round | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 June 2021 | Netherlands | 3–2 | Ukraine | Group C | 15,837[23] |
17 June 2021 | 2–0 | Austria | 15,243[24] | ||
21 June 2021 | North Macedonia | 0–3 | Netherlands | 15,227[25] | |
26 June 2021 | Wales | 0–4 | Denmark | Round of 16 | 14,645[26] |
American football
editThe stadium was home of the American football team Amsterdam Admirals of the NFL Europe, until the National Football League (NFL) ended its European competition in June 2007.[27] The team played over 50 matches in the stadium from 1997 to 2007.[8] World Bowl IX was played at the Arena in 2001, when the Berlin Thunder defeated the Barcelona Dragons.
Kickboxing
editAs kickboxing is a popular combat sport in the Netherlands, the It's Showtime and K-1 promotions have held a number of fight cards at the arena. Many of the sport's biggest stars such as Peter Aerts, Semmy Schilt, Badr Hari and Ernesto Hoost have fought there.[28]
Music events
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2021) |
Dutch music group De Toppers have played annually at the venue since 2005. In total, they have sold out more than 50 concerts; no other act has performed at the stadium that many times. The arena was listed as a potential venue in Amsterdam's bid to host the 65th Eurovision Song Contest. However, the city later withdrew its bid due to venues, including the Johan Cruyff Arena, being fully booked.[29][30]
Entertainment events held at the Johan Cruyff Arena | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Date | Artists | Tour | Supporting Acts | Attendance | Box Office | Ref. |
1996 | |||||||
6 September | Tina Turner | Wildest Dreams Tour | — | — | |||
7 September | |||||||
8 September | |||||||
28 September | Michael Jackson | HIStory World Tour | — | 250,000 / 250,000 | — | [31] | |
30 September | |||||||
2 October | |||||||
1997 | |||||||
8 June | |||||||
10 June | |||||||
18 June | Celine Dion | Falling into You: Around the World | — | — | |||
1998 | |||||||
29 June | The Rolling Stones | Bridges to Babylon Tour | Dave Matthews Band | 261,277 / 261,277 | $11,094,308 | ||
1 July | |||||||
2 July | |||||||
5 July | |||||||
6 July | |||||||
1999 | |||||||
5 June | Backstreet Boys | Into the Millennium Tour | — | — | |||
14 June | Celine Dion | Let's Talk About Love World Tour | — | 64,652 / 64,652 | $3,048,136 | ||
2001 | |||||||
5 June | Bon Jovi | One Wild Night Tour | — | — | |||
6 June | |||||||
2003 | |||||||
3 June | Bon Jovi | Bounce Tour | — | — | |||
17 July | Robbie Williams | Weekends of Mass Distraction | — | — | |||
18 July | |||||||
19 August | The Rolling Stones | Licks Tour | — | — | |||
22 September | |||||||
2004 | |||||||
11 June | David Bowie | A Reality Tour | — | — | |||
2005 | |||||||
13 July | U2 | Vertigo Tour | The Killers Snow Patrol Kaiser Chiefs The Music Athlete |
165,516 / 165,516 | $13,022,200 | ||
15 July | |||||||
16 July | |||||||
2006 | |||||||
21 June | Robbie Williams | Close Encounters Tour | — | — | |||
22 June | |||||||
24 June | |||||||
25 June | |||||||
31 July | The Rolling Stones | A Bigger Bang Tour | Toots and the Maytals | — | |||
3 September | Madonna | Confessions Tour | Paul Oakenfold | 102,330 / 102,330 | $11,783,254 | ||
4 September | |||||||
2007 | |||||||
16 June | Justin Timberlake | FutureSex/LoveShow | — | — | |||
1 July | Genesis | Turn It On Again: The Tour | — | 52,622 / 52,622 | $3,819,127 | ||
2008 | |||||||
2 June | Celine Dion | Taking Chances World Tour | The Storys | 46,969 / 52,772 | $4,565,126 | ||
13 June | Bon Jovi | Lost Highway Tour | — | 34,512 / 34,512 | $2,817,625 | ||
18 June | Bruce Springsteen | Magic Tour | — | 36,257 / 36,529 | $4,370,497 | ||
2 September | Madonna | Sticky & Sweet Tour | Robyn | 50,588 / 50,588 | $6,717,734 | ||
11 October | Kinderen voor Kinderen | Kinderen voor Kinderen Mega Spektakel | — | — | |||
2009 | |||||||
23 June | AC/DC | Black Ice World Tour | The Answer Drive Like Maria |
50,541 / 50,541 | $4,361,233 | ||
20 July | U2 | U2 360° Tour | Snow Patrol | 125,866 / 125,866 | $12,583,998 | ||
21 July | |||||||
2011 | |||||||
18 July | Take That | Progress Live | Pet Shop Boys | — | |||
2013 | |||||||
4 June | Muse | The 2nd Law World Tour | Biffy Clyro Bastille |
— | |||
13 July | Robbie Williams | Take the Crown Stadium Tour | Olly Murs | — | |||
8 September | Roger Waters | The Wall Live | — | 47,414 / 47,500 | $4,257,133 | ||
2014 | |||||||
24 June | One Direction | Where We Are | 5 Seconds of Summer | 103,551 / 103,551 | $7,859,850 | ||
25 June | |||||||
2016 | |||||||
17 June | Rihanna | Anti World Tour | Big Sean DJ Mustard |
50,513 / 50,932 | $3,525,469 | ||
23 June | Coldplay | A Head Full of Dreams Tour | Lianne La Havas Alessia Cara |
104,511 / 104,511 | $8,759,000 | ||
24 June | |||||||
16 July | Beyoncé | The Formation World Tour | Chloe x Halle Ingrid |
49,436 / 49,436 | $4,712,051 | [32] | |
2017 | |||||||
13 May | Armin van Buuren | — | Eller van Buuren Gavin DeGraw Kensington Mr. Probz Trevor Guthrie |
— | |||
29 July | U2 | The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 | Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds | 104,708 / 104,708 | $11,544,870 | ||
30 July | |||||||
30 September | The Rolling Stones | No Filter Tour | De Staat | 54,791 / 54,791 | $8,762,079 | ||
2018 | |||||||
19 June | Beyoncé Jay-Z |
On the Run II Tour | DeeJay Abstract | 97,869 / 97,869 | $9,755,499 | [33] | |
20 June | DJ Flava | ||||||
2019 | |||||||
11 June | Metallica | WorldWired Tour | Ghost Bokassa |
50,576 / 50,576 | $5,151,429 | ||
2022 | |||||||
7 July | The Rolling Stones | Sixty | Ghost Hounds | 51,592 / 51,592 | $9,241,437 | ||
14 July | Ed Sheeran | +–=÷× Tour | Maisie Peters Cat Burns |
134,119 / 134,119 | $8,611,476 | ||
15 July | |||||||
2023 | |||||||
27 April | Metallica | M72 World Tour | Architects Mammoth WVH |
117,671 / 129,451 | $10,691,363 | ||
29 April | Ice Nine Kills Floor Jansen | ||||||
25 May | Bruce Springsteen E Street Band |
2023 Tour | — | ||||
27 May | |||||||
4 June | Harry Styles | Love On Tour | Wet Leg | 154,903 / 154,903 | $16,498,991 | ||
5 June | |||||||
6 June | |||||||
17 June | Beyoncé | Renaissance World Tour | — | 97,657 / 97,657 | $12,817,577 | [34][35] | |
18 June | |||||||
23 June | The Weeknd | After Hours til Dawn Tour | Kaytranada Mike Dean |
103,181 / 103,181 | $10,066,993 | ||
24 June | |||||||
15 July | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres World Tour | Griff Zoë Tauran |
217,609 / 217,609 | $30,322,573 | ||
16 July | |||||||
18 July | |||||||
19 July | |||||||
2024 | 9 June | Burna Boy | I Told Them Tour | ||||
4 July | Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | Paramore | ||||
5 July | |||||||
6 July | |||||||
10 July | Pink | Pink Summer Carnival | Gayle KidCutUp The Script |
||||
11 July |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d (in English)"Ajax's Johan Cruyff Arena growing to 56,120 capacity". sportspromedia. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Houd je spreekbeurt over de Johan Cruijff ArenA". Johan Cruijff ArenA. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Facts & figures" (PDF) (in Dutch). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
- ^ a b "Amsterdam ArenA wordt officieel Johan Cruijff ArenA" (in Dutch). Amsterdam Arena. 5 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Amsterdam ArenA wordt officieel Johan Cruijff ArenA" (in Dutch). Ajax. 5 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Familie Cruijff blij dat naamsverandering Arena eindelijk een feit is" (in Dutch). Nu.nl. 5 April 2018.
- ^ a b c d (in Dutch) The making of Amsterdam ArenA Archived 30 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Amsterdam ArenA. Retrieved 8 June 2008
- ^ a b (in Dutch) Wist je dat.... Amsterdam ArenA. Retrieved 8 June 2008
- ^ "Amsterdam ArenA presenteert nieuwbouwplannen" (in Dutch). Amsterdam Arena. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "Verbouwing Johan Cruijff Arena is van start" (in Dutch). Het Parool. 27 June 2017.
- ^ "Ruwbouw oostzijde Amsterdam ArenA klaar" (in Dutch). Amsterdam Arena. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "Amsterdam Arena wordt Johan Cruijff Arena" [Amsterdam Arena becomes Johan Cruijff Arena]. nos.nl (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Amsterdam ArenA wordt Johan Cruijff ArenA" (in Dutch). Ajax Amsterdam. 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Thuishaven Ajax heet vanaf eind oktober officieel Johan Cruijff ArenA" (in Dutch). Voetbalzone. 9 August 2017.
- ^ "Johan Cruijff Arena op 25 oktober eindelijk een feit" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 9 August 2017.
- ^ "Officiële naamswijziging Johan Cruijff Arena uitgesteld" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Officiële naamswijziging Johan Cruijff Arena uitgesteld" (in Dutch). AT5. 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Logo Johan Cruijff Arena onthuld door Frank Rijkaard" (in Dutch). Nu.nl. 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Aftrap seizoen 2018/'19 in Eredivisie op 10 augustus" (in Dutch). KNVB. 22 January 2018.
- ^ "Vier wangen Johan Cruijff Arena gaan nog voor einde seizoen 'dicht'". Supportersvereniging Ajax (in Dutch). 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ List of UEFA Category 4 Stadiums World Stadium Database. Retrieved 4 August 2018
- ^ The Museum Archived 17 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine AFC Ajax. Retrieved 9 June 2008
- ^ "Full Time Summary – Netherlands v Ukraine" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ "Full Time Summary – Netherlands v Austria" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Full Time Summary – North Macedonia v Netherlands" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Full Time Summary – Wales v Denmark" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ (in Dutch) Admirals houdt op te bestaan NRC Handelsblad, 29 June 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2008
- ^ "Fear and Loathing in Amsterdam" by Michael Schiavello Archived 28 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Hd.net.
- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (24 May 2019). "Eurovision 2020: The potential host cities and venues". ESCToday. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (4 July 2019). "Eurovision 2020: Amsterdam drops out of the Host City race". ESCToday. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ HIStory World Tour – Tour Dates Archived 2 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Mjbaltic.com.
- ^ "Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores". Billboard. 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "Current Boxscore | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ "2023 Top 25 European Grosses" (PDF). Pollstar. 12 December 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Chart Scene: Beyoncé Debuts On LIVE75 With European Tour - Pollstar News". 14 July 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
External links
edit- ^ "Stadsdelen". Gemeente Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2024.