Amsterdam - Amsterdam Arena 12.03.2017: The Ajax stadium, built in 1996, was considered to be one of the most modern arenas in the world at that time. To preserve its reputation as one of the most modern grounds in the world, it has to undergo some changes from time to time. And that is why Ajax presented their project of a progressive redevelopment of the arena which will go on until 2020. Another reason for launching the project is the fact that Amsterdam intends to be one of the venues for the 2020 World Cup.

The redevelopment, started in 2016, will mainly involve installing new LED screens, adding more solar panels, building new lavatories for fans on the upper tier and implementing a new system of rainwater harvesting. The stadium will also get a new exterior and the infrastructure in its vicinity will be improved too. The cost of renovation is supposed to be about 50 million EUR.
 

This is what the Amsterdam Arena will look like in 2020

Source: www.pphp.nl

New standing sections (2016): The capacity will be left unchanged – that is, it will still be 53,000. Nevertheless, the South Stand, the home of Ajax’s noisiest fans, will undergo a minor renovation. Five thousand seats will be replaced by “standing seats”. These will be immovable, metal, non-folding seats, on which the home fans may be standing during a match. However, they must still have all the characteristics of regular seats so as to prevent the necessity to reduce the capacity for international matches, which can be played at all-seater stadiums only.
 

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Amsterda ArenA before modernization

 

Photo: Marc John (CC BY 2.0)

Originally, Amsterdam Arena was intended to be built as an athletics stadium, as the Netherlands wanted to host the 1992 Summer Olympics. However, the Olympics eventually took place in Spain, and it was then decided to build a football-only stadium. And it was the first one in Europe to feature a retractable roof! The construction of the new stadium on the outskirts of Amsterdam began in November 1993 and it was officially opened nearly three years later, in July 1996. Ajax moved out of the old De Meer stadium after having played there for 62 long years.

Interesting matches: The first grand event took place at Amsterdam Arena in 1998, when the Champions League final was played there – Juventus lost to Real Madrid 0-1. The stadium was also one of the venues for the 2000 European Championship, held in the Netherlands and Belgium. And one of the most important recent matches was the 2012/2013 UEFA Europa League final, in which Chelsea beat Benfica Lisbon 2-1.

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