BJK İnönü Stadium
Home to Turkish giants Beşiktaş J.K. from 1947-2013 before it was demolished for the club to move to Vodafone Park. Construction started in 1939, but World War 2 halted operations and the work continued in 1943. It officially opened on 19 May 1947 by then president of Turkey and Besiktas fan, İsmet İnönü, under the name Dolmabahçe Stadium. The first football match was played on 27 November 1947, as Beşiktaş took on AIK Stockholm in a 3-2 loss with Suleyman Seba, Besiktas’s longest presiding club chairman grabbing the first ever goal scored at the stadium.
The stadium was renamed Mithatpaşa Stadium from 1952 for political reasons, and then later settled on İnönü Stadium in 1973. Initially it held 16,000, but expansion meant that it could hold 40,000, and eventually settled on an all-seater capacity of 32,145. Galatasaray also used the stadium throughout the years until the construction of Ali Sami Yen Stadium.
The last game to be played at the stadium was a 3-0 win for Beşiktaş against Gençlerbirliği on 11 May 2013 in front of 40,000 fans, the record attendance for the stadium. It was a farewell that included riots pre match, but it was atmospheric and emotional as fans spilled onto the pitch after the game to collect souvenirs like seats, parts of the grass, and taking anything they could. Demolition then took place on June 2013, with only the western gate and southern walls remaining. A new stadium – Vodafone Park was built at the same location.
San Mamés Stadium (1913)
Known as La Catedral (The Cathedral), it was home to Athletic Bilbao from 1913-2013, Spain’s oldest stadium until it’s demolition. Officially opened on 21 August 1913, in a friendly with Racing Club de Irún, the stadium initially held 7,000 people, but over time the capacity grew to 40,000. The first goal at the stadium was scored by Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, also known as Pichichi.
It was renovated twice, first in 1952 and more so in 1982 when the stadium was almost entirely rebuilt for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. The Spanish national side played a handful of games here also, but it was the Basque Country team that used it more between 1915-2011.
A farewell match was played on 5 June 2013 between Athletic Bilbao and Biscay XI, a team consisting of players born in the province based with other clubs. Bilbao introduced some of their old heroes back onto the pitch as substitutes while other legends were in attendance also. Demolition began the following days after the game to make way for the new San Mamés, that would stand adjacent to the old. Almost all of the stadium was demolished, while the iconic arch over the main stand would be preserved and moved to Bilbao’s training ground.
Nikos Goumas Stadium
Named after Nikos Goumas, an old club president of AEK Athens, it was also known as Nea Filadelfeia Stadium, or AEK Stadium. It played home to AEK Athens from 1930-2003. The inaugural home game took place in November 1930 and ended in a 2-2 draw between AEK Athens and Olympiacos.
A double-tiered south stand, whose addition made it the largest stadium in Athens at the time and increased capacity to almost 35,000, was built by chairman Loukas Barlos in 1979. The AEK ultras, also known as Originals moved into the stand, particularly the lower tier known as Skepasti, meaning roofed. It was moved to an all-seater capacity of 24,729 in 1998.
The stadium suffered as a result of the catastrophic Athens earthquake on 7 September 1999, as parts of the stadium had to be kept shut for safety reasons. With the damages, and the stadiums age, it was decided by Gianna Granitsas that the stadium would be demolished in June 2003. On 3 May 2003, a 4-0 win for AEK Athens against Aris served as the final game for a stadium that had come to represent all of AEK’s victories. A stadium that the club held a remarkable record in, playing a total of 1,118 games and winning 856 of those. A new Agia Sophia Stadium was built at the same site in 2022.
Ayresome Park
Home to Middlesbrough from 1902-1995 before they moved on to the Riverside Stadium. The team played at various different grounds since their introduction, but due to the new Football League, and the growing support, Middlesbrough had to find an improved stadium, and they found a home at Ayresome Park. A friendly against Celtic opened the stadium on 9 September 1902, in a 1-0 win for Middlesbrough.
The highest attendance of 53,802 spectators came on 27 December 1949, in a game against North East rivals Newcastle United. Capacity was reduced to 42,000 as seats were added for the 1966 World Cup as Ayresome Park was chosen as one of the venues. North Korea famously knocked out Italy at the ground, advancing them to the quarter-finals, but attendances at the stadium for the World Cup games were low.
With the founding of the Premier League in 1992, Middlesbrough became the first English club to start work on a new stadium as Ayresome Park lacked renovation due to surrounding housing. The last competitive match would be played on 30 April 1995 in a 2-1 win that sealed promotion for Middlesbrough’s return to the Premier League, where they would move on to Riverside Stadium. The stadium was finally demolished in 1997, making way for a housing estate, while several of the old walls remain, as well as football names of streets such as the Turnstile and the Midfield. The old gates of Ayresome Park were preserved and still stand in front of the Riverside Stadium.
De Meer Stadion
Former home to Dutch giants Ajax for over 60 years, from 1934-1996. The stadium held 29,500 people, which meant that Ajax played their European games at the Olympic Stadium, which could host 60,000 fans. A friendly match between Ajax and Stade Francais opened the stadium on 9 December 1934 in a 5-1 win for Ajax.
Safety measures brought the stadium’s attendance down to 19,000, and it was evident by the 1980s that Ajax’s growth meant that De Meer could no longer house the large numbers of fans that Ajax’s games drew.
It was an extremely emotional day on 28 April 1996, as Ajax played their final game at De Meer, a 5-1 win against Willem II, thanks to a hat-trick from Finidi George and an overhead kick from Jari Litmanen that secured the Dutch title for Ajax. In the farewell to De Meer, tears were shed as Ajax also said goodbye to Michael Reiziger and Edgar Davids as they moved on to AC Milan.
The stadium held a ceremony in August of that year, as Ajax moved on to the Amsterdam ArenA, with heroes returning for a final appearance to say goodbye to De Meer, including Johan Cruyff.
The De Meer was demolished after the club left to make way for a housing development. The area is commemorated, however, by naming the new streets after famous football stadiums from around the world.
Estádio dos Eucaliptos
Formally named the Estádio Ildo Manéghetti, most commonly known as the Estádio dos Eucaliptos due to the Eucalypus Ranch, the site of where the stadium was built, was a football stadium in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Built in 1931, it was owned by Sport Club Internacional, up until the closing in 1969. With a seating capacity of 10,000, the inaugural match however had an attendance of 22,000 on the 15 May 1931, as Internacional defeated Grêmio 3-0.
The Brazilian Sports Confederation reconstructed the stadium, replacing the wooden pavilion with concrete for the 1950 World Cup, in which the stadium held two matches, with Mexico playing Yugoslavia and Switzerland.
The last match in March 1969 saw Internacional beat Brazil’s oldest team Rio Grande, 4-1 as the club moved on to Estadio Beira-Rio. One of the greats of Internacional, Osmar Fortes Barcellos known as Tesourinha, entered the game in the dying minutes at the age of 48. At the referee’s whistle, he tore off one of the nets and kept it as a souvenir.
Until 2012, the stadium was still in use for rent with synthetic pitches available until the demolition began in 11 March 2012 to make way for residential areas.
The Dell
Home to Southampton for over 100 years, from 1898-2001, before their move to St Mary’s Stadium. The first match at the stadium saw Southampton defeat Brighton United 4-1 on 3 September 1898, with the first ever goal scored coming from Walter Keay.
Initially, The Dell had two covered stands for seating, and two natural banks for standing spectators, holding an approximately 24,500 fans. Major development took place in 1928 when legendary architect Archibald Leitch, the man who helped design many of the iconic stadiums that stand today in Britain, designed the new West Stand. A fire destroyed the East Stand, which was replaced to mirror the West Stand, with capacity now reaching 30,000.
World War 2 saw German bombs falls on the stadium during The Southampton Blitz, which created an 18-foot crater inside the stadium on 30 November 1940. It was restored and reopened in October 1941.
The stadium became the first in England to install permanent floodlighting in 1950, with the first game played “under the lights”, a friendly against Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic on 31 October 1950. The record attendance came on 8 October 1969, when 31,044 people packed The Dell as Southampton lost 3-0 to Manchester United. In the wake of the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989, all clubs in the English top two divisions would need to have all-seater stadiums. This would bring the attendance at The Dell down to 15,000, the smallest in the top level of English football.
By the mid 1990s, the club were looking for a new and bigger home. It was confirmed at the end of the 1998-99 season that Southampton would be moving on, with the new St Mary’s Stadium set to be ready for the 2001-02 season.
The last competitive goal was a fitting one, scored on 19 May 2001 by club legend Matt Le Tissier, who spent his entire professional career at Southampton. Le Tissier netted the winning goal with a volley in the final minutes of a thrilling 3-2 win against Arsenal.
Fans said goodbye to The Dell on 26 May 2001, taking seats home as souvenirs, as well as parts of the pitch. The stadium was demolished on 13 July 2001 and replaced by a housing estate with apartments named after famous Southampton players.
Parc des Princes (1932-1972)
Parc des Princes has went through various changes throughout its course, with the second stadium being between 1932-1972. It was a large reconstruction of the previous Parc des Princes that gave the stadium 45,000 seats for fans. Capacity was then cut for comfort down to 38,000, and the opening of the new stadium saw a round of 16 game between Switzerland and Germany in the 1938 FIFA World Cup. A 1-1 draw meant that they came back for a replay where Switzerland would knock out Germany 4-2. Hungary would then defeat Sweden 5-1 in the semi-finals here also.
It was a stadium that not only held football, but one for all sports. It held the Tour de France due to its cycling track of 454 metres, as well as the 1954 Rugby League World Cup which saw Great Britain beat France. It hosted the inaugural final of the first ever European Cup in 1956 between Real Madrid and Stade de Reims in a win for the Spanish giants. The first ever European Nations’ Cup Final was also held in 1960 where the Soviet Union defeated Yugoslavia.
The stadium then took on a completely new design with the Parc des Princes that we see today.
Estadi de Sarrià
The stadium was home to RCD Espanyol from 1923-1997 before they moved on to Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. It opened on 18 Feburary 1923 in a game between Espanyol and UE Sants. The capacity was to be 40,000, but ended up being 10,000 due to club’s finances and bankruptcy of the construction company.
New stands were installed to increase capacity in the 1950s, and the stadium reached maximum capacity of 44,000 in the 1970s with a new grand stand built. The stadium was chosen to take part at the 1982 World Cup, hosting the three group games of Group C that had Italy, Argentina and Brazil. The game between Italy and Brazil is widely regarded as a World Cup great, a 3-2 thriller won by the Italians who eventually went on to win the World Cup that year.
The 1988 UEFA Cup Final, a two legged tie, saw the first leg played at the Sarrià Stadium where Espanyol would take on Bayer Leverkusen. Espanyol took a healthy 3-0 lead to Leverkusen, but it didn’t end well as Bayer Leverkusen equalled the result in the return leg, eventually winning on penalties.
Debts saw the club forced to sell the stadium to real estate developers, and Espanyol would move on to the vacant Olympic Stadium. The last match of Estadi de Sarrià was played on 21 June 1997, in a 3-2 win against Valencia. The stadium was demolished on 20 September 1997 and converted into a park.
Central Dynamo Stadium
Located in Moscow, the stadium was home to Dynamo Moscow between 1928-2008. Built in 1928, the stadium was the central sports facility in Moscow until the Central Lenin Stadium. It was one of the venues to host the football tournament of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Legendary Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin’s monument stood at the stadium’s north entrance. The stadium celebrated 80 years in 2008, the same year it closed for demolition, which took place in 2011. On 22 November 2008, a farewell match was played, with Dynamo Moscow then moving on to Arena Khimki. The stadium was demolished in 2011 and a new stadium was built on the same spot in 2019, named VTB Arena.
