Olympic Stadium (Amsterdam)
The Olympisch Stadion in Amsterdam was built as the main stadium for the 1928 Summer Olympics. It was designed by the architect Jan Wils and is one of the finest examples of Amsterdamse School architecture, complementing the surrounding neighbourhood designed by H.P. Berlage. The design won first prize in the Olympic architecture competition at the 1928 Olympics.
The 1928 Olympics introduced the idea of the Olympic Flame. The flame burned for the first time ever in the tall tower of the Olympisch Stadion. When completed, the stadium had a capacity of 34,000. However, after the construction of De Kuip in Rotterdam in 1937, the Amsterdam authorities increased the size of the Olympisch Stadion to 64,000.
The stadium hosted several international matches of the Dutch national football team, the first one being the game against Uruguay (0-2) during the Summer Olympics on May 30, 1928. The last one was a friendly on September 6, 1989 against Denmark: 0-2.
After the Olympics, the stadium was used regularly for various sporting events, including athletics, speedway, field hockey and cycling (in 1954, the Tour de France started outside the stadium). However, it was football that remained the most popular. It was both the home ground of Blauw Wit FC and BVC Amsterdam (later merged into FC Amsterdam), while AFC Ajax used the stadium for games in which the crowd was expected to exceed the capacity of its own De Meer Stadion, or for midweek games which required the use of floodlights (which the De Meer was not initially built with). Ajax continued this arrangement until 1996 with the opening of the Amsterdam ArenA. After Ajax left the stadium, it was refurbished into the original construction (removing the second ring), and made suitable for track & field competitions.
In 1978 the city government announced plans to demolish the stadium. However, the stadium was saved when it was listed as a national monument. Renovation started in 1996 and the stadium was reopened by Prince Willem Alexander on May 13, 1997.
Since 2005, the stadium is home to a sports museum, Olympic Experience Amsterdam.
Famous games
Famous games include the legendary 1962 European Cup final between Benfica and Real Madrid, ending in 5-3, the 5-1 victory by Ajax over Liverpool F.C., on December 7, 1966 signalling the birth of Ajax as a European power and the 8-2 victory over Feyenoord in 1982.
External link
- Olympisch stadium site (in Dutch)
