for their sponsor the

Akita Bank () is a Japanese regional bank headquartered in the city of Akita, Akita Prefecture. Although the bank’s core business comes from Akita prefecture, various branches are situated outside of the area. These include Koriyama, Sapporo, Morioka, S ...

, is a football stadium in

Akita is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto ...

, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The stadium has a capacity of 4,992 and has been the home ground of J3 League club Blaublitz Akita since 2013. It was formerly known as Akita Yabase Playing Field. Since September 2014 it has been called Akigin Stadium for the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

History

The stadium was first opened in August 1953 and a roof was constructed over the main stand in September 1961. Lighting was installed in July 1978 and upgraded in September 2001. Underdrainage was installed in June 1982. The ground was converted to natural grass in November 2001. In March 2002 the end stand was renovated and a new stand opposite the main stand was constructed. Renovation of the main stand was completed in July 2004, increasing the capacity to 4,992 (including 15 wheelchair spaces). In 2007 the stadium hosted the men's soccer event of the

National Sports Festival of Japan The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...

Facilities

The stadium is equipped with lighting for night matches, an electronic scoreboard and broadcast booth. The main stand also houses conference rooms. The main stand has seating for 1,882 people, including 10 wheelchair spaces. The end and side stands are grassed terraces that have a capacity of 1,300 and 1,800 respectively. A second field known as the No.2 Field was built next to the stadium in October 2005. It has a synthetic turf surface and a capacity of 730 people. It is currently known as the Space Project Dream Field under a 2014 naming rights deal.

Tenants

J3 League club Blaublitz Akita has been the main tenant since 2013. The Akita Northern Bullets of the second-tier are also based at the ground. The stadium also hosts high school and amateur soccer and rugby tournaments each year. The ground is available for use from April until November each year. The conference rooms are available for hire all year round.

Naming rights

In August 2014 the City of Akita leased the naming rights to the stadium to

for a period of two years and seven months, from September 2014 until March 2017. The agreement was reported as being worth 3.25 million yen per year. In a separate deal announced at the same time, the naming rights of the No.2 Field was leased to the events company "Space Project" for the same time period at 720,000 yen per year.

Access

The stadium is accessible via buses operated by the Akita Chuoukotsu Bus company. There is also a car park with 180 bays, including three reserved for wheelchair users.

Gallery

File:Akita Football Stadium 1.JPG, View from the main stand File:Akita Municipal Yabase Football Stadium 20130817-2.jpg, Entrance to the main stand File:Akigin Stadium.jpg, Satellite view File:Yabase Sports Park football ground.jpg, Space Project Dream Field and Health Square File:Space Project Dream Field.jpg, Space Project Dream Field (right) and Health Square File:Yabase Sports Park 1975.jpg, Yabase Sports Park in 1975

References

External links

* {{List of football stadiums in Asia Buildings and structures in Akita (city) Football venues in Japan Rugby union stadiums in Japan Blaublitz Akita Saruta Kogyo SC Sports venues in Akita Prefecture Sports venues completed in 1953 1953 establishments in Japan