Stadion de Goffert
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The Goffertstadion or Stadion de Goffert, known as McDOS Goffertstadion for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Nijmegen, Netherlands. It is home to football club NEC.
The stadium was opened on July 8, 1939 by Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands
Since 1951 the opening of the International Four Days Marches Nijmegen, the so-called Vlaggenparade, a parade with the national flags of all participants is held in the stadium.
In 1983 NEC played a UEFA Cup match against FC Barcelona, still seen as the most important match ever played in the Goffertstadion.
It was rebuilt into a modern stadium with all seats covered and heated and updated catering facilities. The first home-match scheduled in the new stadium took place in September 1999. The grand re-opening was on 25 January 2000.
One of the many advantages the renovated stadium offers is the improved atmosphere thanks to the fact that the spectators are now situated much closer to the playing ground. Because of this the players will have a better interaction with the crowd. Also the fact that the capacity has been reduced to 12.500 into a more compact space will result in a better atmosphere during the matches.
Secondly, safety can be guaranteed. The new stadium will only provide seating accommodation which contributes to safety as well. The playing ground and the rest of the stadium are separated from each other by a promenade which is situated under the spectators’ seats. This promenade has a double function: It replaces the fences, which, according to some psychologists, can cause aggression among the hard-core supporters. Secondly, the promenade will serve as ‘the place to be’ for food and beverage.
A third advantage is the environmental aspect. All spectators will have a roof over their heads. Their feet will be kept warm because of the heat, which is stored in a specially constructed space under the playing ground, and which will be turned on during matches. The stored heat can also warm up the playing ground so that matches can still take place during winter.
In November 2007 the board of NEC and the city of Nijmegen presented new plans for De Goffert. The capacity is intended to be increased to 18,000 and the stadium will be placed largely underground inside a large hill. This hill will also serve as a home for basketball (Matrixx Magixx), judo and other sports, creating a 'House of Topsports'. The strange, but innovative, design is needed because the city will not allow the stadium to grow in height because of the Goffert Park, which is a protected nature-site. The new stadium should be completed in 2010.
The Nijmegen venue hosted three international matches of the Dutch national football team in the 1970s, with the last being a qualifying match for Euro 1980 on September 20, 1978 against Iceland: 3-0. The goals were scored by Ruud Krol, Ernie Brandts and Rob Rensenbrink (penalty).
[edit] References
- (Dutch) VoetbalStats
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