GlobeStadiums

General Motors Place, sponsored by the American automaker General Motors, also known as “GM Place” and “The Garage”, is an indoor arena at 800 Griffiths Way in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Completed in 1995 at a cost of C$160 million in private financing, the arena is home to the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL, and was formerly home to the Vancouver Ravens of the NLL and the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA. The Grizzlies have since moved to Memphis and the Ravens organization has folded. The arena seats 18,630 for ice hockey and 19,193 for basketball. It has 88 luxury suites, 12 hospitality suites, and 2,195 club seats. The arena replaced the Pacific Coliseum as the main venue for events in Vancouver.

On November 17, 2004, Francesco Aquilini, head of the Aquilini Investment Group based in Vancouver, signed a deal with John McCaw, owner of the Vancouver Canucks, and became a 50% owner of the team and General Motors Place with McCaw.

The arena is served by the Skytrain’s Stadium-Chinatown Station

[Source: Wikipedia]

The International Stadium of Yokohama (横浜国際総合競技場, Yokohama Kokusai Sōgō Kyōgi-jō?) has 73,237 seats, and was inaugurated in March 1998. It is the home stadium of Yokohama F. Marinos of the J. League.

It hosted three first-round games during the Football World Cup 2002, and the final game between Germany and Brazil was played there on June 30, 2002 (the game was won by Brazil, 2–0).

From March 1, 2005, its name was changed to Nissan Stadium (日産スタジアム, Nissan Sutajiamu?) to reflect the sponsorship of the Nissan Motor Co.

It hosted some matches of the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship, including the finals. During the tournament, its name was temporarily reverted to the original due to FIFA requirements (FIFA does not recognise sponsorship of stadia at official FIFA events).

[Source: Wikipedia]

Pohang Civil Stadium in Pohang, South Korea.

Capacity 23,000

Ivor Wynne Stadium (originally known as Civic Stadium) is a Canadian football stadium located in Hamilton, Ontario. The stadium was originally constructed in 1930 to host the 1930 British Empire Games, though playing fields had stood on the site since the city bought the land from a local farmer in 1913. The stadium, which currently seats 30 000 for football, has been the home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL since 1950.

The stadium consists of a large grandstand on one side of the field, with a small section curving around the end zone, and a separate grandstand on the opposite side of the field. The stadium was heavily rebuilt in 1970-71 and renamed for Ivor Wynne, the former chairman of the city Parks Board, in 1971.

From 1971 to 1975, Ivor Wynne’s 34,500 seats made it the largest stadium in the CFL.

Ivor Wynne was the second facility in Canada to use Astroturf - Empire Stadium in Vancouver being the first in 1970 - or indeed any other artificial surface - a trend that has been followed by almost every major sports facility in Canada.

In the 1980s, the west end zone bleachers were removed for the addition of a new scoreboard, dropping capacity to approx. 29,500. A subsequent retro fit of the north stand lower east section for handicap access in the 1990s dropped capacity further to just under 29,000.

The stadium was renovated again after the 2002 football season and had a new FieldTurf playing surface installed. Shortly following the 2003 season a new scoreboard was erected in the west end of the stadium; owing to sponsorship, it is known as Dofasco TigerVision. In April 2005, Ivor Wynne hosted Our Game to Give, a charity hockey game similar in concept to the Heritage Classic.

Ivor Wynne has hosted the Grey Cup twice, in 1972 (with a win by the hometown Tiger-Cats over Saskatchewan in a sell out) and 1996, when temporary west and east end zone seating raised capacity to 43,000, but actual attendance was 36,000 even with a last minute discount ticket promotion by local coffee giant Tim Hortons. With the ticket discount, and 7000 empty seats, the 1996 Grey Cup suffered at least a 2.5 million dollar loss. The ‘96 Cup game, perhaps one of the greatest of all time, was played in a steady snowstorm, and won by the Toronto Argos over the Edmonton Eskimos.

[Source: Wikipedia]

La Paz Olympic Stadium Estadio Hernando Siles is Bolivia’s largest sports complex. It has a capacity of 42.000 seated spectators and is named after Hernando Siles Reyes, the 31st President of Bolivia 1926-1930.

The stadium is located in the Miraflores borough of La Paz, at an altitude of 3,637 meters above sea level, making it one of the highest professional stadiums in the world. Soccer’s governing body, FIFA accepts the stadium as an international venue despite protests from visiting teams that the altitude gives the Bolivian national team an unfair advantage against opponents who only have a few days to acclimatise before playing.

It is the home ground of three Bolivian league football clubs, Club Bolivar,The Strongest and La Paz FC

[Source: Wikipedia]

The Wachovia Center (formerly known as the CoreStates Center and the First Union Center) is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the home arena of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL and the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. The arena was completed in 1996 on what was once the site of John F. Kennedy Stadium at a cost of $206 million, largely privately financed (though the city and state helped to pay for the local infrastructure). The building lies at the southeast corner of the South Philadelphia sports complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and the arena’s predecessor, The Spectrum.

The arena seats 21,600 for basketball and 19,519 for hockey. It has 126 luxury suites and 1,880 club seats. The arena was originally named for CoreStates Bank, which agreed to pay $40 million over 21 years for the naming rights, with additional terms to be settled later for an additional eight year period at the end of the contract. The naming rights were taken by First Union Bank in a merger in 1998 and then by Wachovia Bank in a 2003 merger with First Union. While under the First Union name, it was affectionately referred to as the “F.U. Center” by Philadelphians. Due to this, a name alteration was considered, the “First Union National Center.” However, this was met with much derision from fans and athletes who played in the facility, such as former Philadelphia Flyers forward Brantt Myhres, who said the name change would make the building sound like a “circus venue.”

(more…)

Shah Alam Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Shah Alam, Malaysia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has facilities for athletics. The stadium has a capacity of 69,372. It was built in 1991. The stadium was officially opened on 1994.

The stadium is the home of Selangor FA, also known as the Red Giants.

[Source: Wikipedia]

Sun Bowl Stadium is an on-campus football stadium at the University of Texas at El Paso. It is home to the UTEP Miners football team, as well as the Vitalis Sun Bowl game, held annually on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve.

The stadium, named for the game it hosts, was opened in September of 1963 with a win against North Texas State. The opening play was a 54-yard touchdown run by Larry Durham of the Miners. The land the stadium sits on was originally donated by the university to the city of El Paso, who built the stadium for the school and the Sun Bowl game. Both had previously used Kidd Field, the school’s current track and field stadium, which only seats 15,000. The city had realized that the game could not expand its audience or the list of teams that it could invite without a bigger stadium, so the Sun Bowl was built in a natural bowl lying to the west of the old stadium.

(more…)

BC Place Stadium is Canada’s first domed stadium. It is located on the north side of False Creek in Vancouver, British Columbia and home to the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and the regions largest consumer shows, trade shows and special events. It is owned and operated by PavCo (BC Pavilion Corporation), a Crown Corporation of the government in the Province of British Columbia. BC Place will be the host of the opening, closing and nightly medal ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympic games.

The JJB Stadium is a sports stadium located within the Robin Park Complex in Wigan, Greater Manchester. It is the home ground of both Wigan Athletic F.C. and Wigan Warriors rugby league club. The stadium is named after its principal sponsor, the sporting goods retailer JJB Sports (whose chairman, David Whelan, owns both clubs).

[Source: Wikipedia]