(official name: Higashi-Hirao Park Hakatanomori Football Stadium (東平尾公園博多の森球技場), renamed on March 1, 2008 for naming rights), is located in the Hakata Ward of Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is the home ground of the

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

association football club Avispa Fukuoka.

History

Best Denki Stadium is located in Higashi Hirao Park (commonly known as "Hakata no Mori" (博多の森)), Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture. This park has been built as a sports park in the hills near the city-town border with Shime Town, Kasuya District, which is adjacent to the east side of the runway at Fukuoka Airport. This is Fukuoka City's first football-specific stadium, which was constructed in 1995 to serve as the main soccer venue for the Universiade Fukuoka Tournament held in Fukuoka. The stadium also hosts rugby union matches, including a few international matches, Top League games, Top League Challenge series and Top

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

league games. It was also host to four games (two match days) in the IRB Junior World Championship 2009, including the 7th place play-off and 5th place play-off on July 21, 2009. The stadium was one of the venues for

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

which was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in Asia. During the games, to which the clean stadium regulations were applied, the stadium used the name of "Hakatanomori Stadium". The stadium's seating capacity is 21,562; and it can be accessed by the 15–20 minutes walk or a short bus ride from Fukuoka Airport.

Naming Rights

This stadium was well-known as "Level-5 Stadium" in 2008-2019 seasons, which was named after the game software company. After that, Level-5 announced that it would not renew the naming-right contract in 2020 season, so the new sponsors were recruited. As a result, " Best Denki" which is the home electronics mass retailer headquartered in Fukuoka city has acquired the naming rights. Therefore, this stadium has been using the name of "Best Denki Stadium" (abbreviation: Bes-Sta (ベススタ)) since March 1, 2020.

International Matches

Association football

3 - 2 Mexico ( Kirin Cup, 29 May 1996) * Japan 2 - 0 South Korea (Final, Football at the

1995 Summer Universiade The 1995 Summer Universiade, also known as the XVIII Summer Universiade, took place in Fukuoka, Japan. Emblem The symbol mark is a motif of "U", expressing passion and energy in the flickering flames of a burning torch. In the flames one sees bot ...

, 2 September 1995)

Rugby

21 Australia A 42 (IRB Pacific Nations Cup, June 8, 2008) *

121 Philippines 0 (

2013 Asian Five Nations The 2013 Asian Five Nations, known as the 2013 HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the HSBC, was the 26th Asian Five Nations rugby union tournament, and the sixth since it was rebranded from the Asian Rugby Championship in ...

, April 20, 2013) * Italy 48 Canada 7 (

, September 26, 2019) * France 33 United States 9 (2019 Rugby World Cup, October 2, 2019) * Ireland 47 Samoa 5 (2019 Rugby World Cup, October 12, 2019)

References

External links

東平尾公園（博多の森）
Fukuoka City
AVISPA FUKUOKA Official Website
{{2019 Rugby World Cup venues Football venues in Japan Buildings and structures in Fukuoka Rugby union stadiums in Japan Cricket grounds in Japan Rugby in Kyushu Tourist attractions in Fukuoka Sports venues in Fukuoka Prefecture Avispa Fukuoka 1995 establishments in Japan Sports venues completed in 1995