De Kuip

Stadion Feijenoord
de Kuip
Full name	Stadion Feijenoord
Location	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Built	1935–1937
Opened	July 23, 1937 (1937-07-23)
Renovated	1994
Architect	Leendert van der Vlugt Broekbakema (renovation)
Capacity	51,577 (47,500 for football matches)
Website	www.dekuip.nl
Tenants
Feyenoord (Eredivisie) KNVB

Inside the stadium.

Another view inside the stadium.

De Kuip from above

Feyenoord helicopter entering the stadium.

Stadion Feijenoord, more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈkœyp]) (the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands that was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the area "Feijenoord" in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same name (although the club's name was internationalised to Feyenoord in 1973). The stadium's original capacity was 64,000. In 1949 it was expanded to 69,000, and in 1994 it was renovated again for a capacity of 51,177 (49,000 for KNVB matches).

History

Leen van Zandvliet, Feyenoord's president in the 1930s, came up with the idea of building an entirely new stadium, unlike any other on the continent, with two free hanging tiers and no obstacles blocking the view. Contemporary examples were Highbury, where the West and East stands had been recently built as a double deck, and Yankee Stadium in New York City. Johannes Brinkman and Leendert van der Vlugt, the famous designers of the van Nelle factories in Rotterdam were asked to design a stadium out of glass, concrete and steel, cheap materials at that time. In fact, "de Kuip" acted as an example for many of the greatest stadia we know today, e.g. Camp Nou. The stadium was co-financed by the billionaire Daniël George van Beuningen, who made his fortune in World War I, exporting coal from Germany to England through neutral Netherlands.

In World War II, the stadium was nearly torn down for scrap by German occupiers. After the war the stadium's capacity was expanded (1949) and stadium lights were added (1958). On 29 October 1991 De Kuip was named as being one of Rotterdam's monuments.^[1] In 1994 the stadium was extensively renovated to its present form:^[1] It became an all seater and the roof was extended to cover all the seats. An extra building was constructed for commercial use by Feyenoord, it also houses a restaurant and a museum, The Home of History.^[2]

As of January 2007, the stadium can be found in 3D format on Google Earth.^[3]

Facilities and related buildings

Adjacent to De Kuip inside the Maasgebouw (Maas building) is a restaurant, Brasserie “De Kuip Eten en Drinken”, which a sporty decoration combined with a cosy atmosphere.^[4] The brasserie can host 180 customers during dinner times and 300 customers for business meetings. The brasserie is closed when Feyenoord plays at home.^[4] A visit to the brasserie is often combined with a stadium tour in De Kuip, or a visit during a Feyenoord training.^[5] Next to De Kuip and Feyenoord's training ground there is another, but smaller sports arena, the Topsportcentrum Rotterdam. This arena hosts events in many sports and in various levels of competition. Some examples of sports that can be seen in the topsportcentrum are judo, volleyball and handball.^[6]

Commercial uses

Football history

De Kuip is currently the home stadium of football club Feyenoord, one of the traditional top teams in the Netherlands. It has also long been one of the home grounds of the Dutch national team, having hosted over 150 international matches, with the first one being a match against Belgium on 2 May 1937. In 1963 De Kuip staged the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, with Tottenham Hotspur becoming the first British club to win a European trophy -- beating Atlético Madrid 5-1. A record ten European finals have taken place in the Feijenoord stadium, the last one being the 2002 UEFA Cup Final in which Feyenoord, coincidentally playing a home match, defeated Borussia Dortmund 3–2. In 2000, the Feijenoord stadium hosted the final of Euro 2000, played in the Netherlands and Belgium, where France defeated Italy 2–1 in extra time.^[1]

Concerts

The stadium has hosted concerts since 1978. Among the first performers at De Kuip were Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton.^[1] David Bowie held his dress rehearsals and subsequently opened his 1987 Glass Spider Tour at the stadium.^[7] Michael Jackson performed at the stadium 5 times, 3 during the Bad World Tour (1988) and 2 during the Dangerous World Tour (1992), performing to a combined crowd of 270,000.^{[citation needed]} Fewer concerts have been held at this venue since the opening of Amsterdam ArenA in 1996.

De Nieuwe Kuip

Since 2006 Feyenoord Rotterdam has been working on plans for a new stadium, with plans for 2017 completion and an estimated capacity for 85,000 people.

Average visitor numbers per season, 1937–2007

See also

• List of stadiums
• UEFA

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Feijenoord Stadion.

• De Kuip at Footballmatch.de
• Aerial photo (Google Maps)
• 3D format on Google Earth

Coordinates: 51°53′38.02″N 4°31′23.71″E / 51.8938944°N 4.5232528°E / 51.8938944; 4.5232528