The , also nicknamed the , is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

in Niigata, Japan. It is the home ground of J2 League club

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. From 2023, Albirex will be playing on the J1 League, coming back to the f ...

and was one of the 20 stadia used in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

, hosting three matches. Through a sponsorship deal the stadium is officially named , and has previously been called the ''Tohoku Denryoku Big Swan Stadium'' for similar reason. The stadium's capacity is 42,300. The highest recorded attendance at the stadium was Albirex Niigata's home fixture against

Omiya Ardija is a professional association football club based in Ōmiya in Saitama, Japan. Its "hometown" as designated by the league is the whole of Saitama city, which is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. Omiya competed in the J1 League follow ...

on 23 November 2003, the final day of the

2003 J. League Division 2 The 2003 J. League Division 2 season was the 32nd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 5th season since the establishment of J2 League. In this season, twelve clubs competed in the quadruple round-robin format. The top two rec ...

, with 42,223 fans attending.

Naming history

In 2007,

Tohoku Electric Power is an electric utility, servicing 7.6 million individual and corporate customers in six prefectures in Tōhoku region plus Niigata Prefecture. It provides electricity at 100 V, 50 Hz, though some area use 60 Hz. Tohoku Electric Power ...

bought 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 ...

to the Niigata Stadium for ¥120 million/year, retitling the stadium as the "Tohoku Denryoku Big Swan Stadium". In September 2013, Denki Kagaku Kogyo (Denka) bought the naming rights for ¥70 million/year, and the stadium was rebranded as the "Denka Big Swan Stadium" in a 3-year deal.

Rugby

The stadium also sometimes hosts

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

games and on May 18, 2008 Japan played Hong Kong here in the

2008 Asian Five Nations ''For divisional competitions, see: 2008 Asian Five Nations division tournaments'' The 2008 Asian Five Nations, known as the 2008 HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to its sponsorship by HSBC, was the inaugural series of the newly formatted Asian rugby un ...

2002 FIFA World Cup

Niigata Stadium hosted 3 matches in the

Access

;Transit bus There is a bus stop ' ', 1 minute walk away from the stadium. Transit bus operated by

Niigata Kotsu is a public transportation company which operates local and long-distance buses in Niigata prefecture, Japan. Bus lines , the following bus lines are in service. Regular busesTimetables - Niigata Kotsu (2018.3) BRT Central NiigataRouteMap ...

S70, S71, S72 (line: S7) runs from

Niigata Station is a major railway station in Chūō-ku, Niigata, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station is at the centre of Niigata city, the largest city on the Sea of Japan coast in Honshu. It forms the central station for the ...

South Exit.

References

External links