Diekman Stadion () was a multi-use stadium in Enschede,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It was used mostly for football matches. The stadium was able to hold 13,500 people and opened in 1956. The stadium closed in 1998 when the

Arke Stadion De Grolsch Veste (, en, The Grolsch Fortress, previously known as ''Arke Stadion'' ) is the stadium of football club FC Twente. It is located in Enschede, Netherlands, at the Business & Science Park, near the University of Twente. The stadium ...

opened.

History

When construction of the stadium started it was not yet known which football club would make it its home ground. VV Rigtersbleek,

Enschedese Boys Enschedese Boys is a non-league football club from the Dutch city Enschede. In 1965 the professional team of ''De Boys'' merged with their rivals Sportclub Enschede to FC Twente (both clubs continued in non-league football). Currently ''Enschede ...

and

Sportclub Enschede Sportclub Enschede is a football club from Enschede, Netherlands. ''SC Enschede'' was established in 1910. The club won the national championship in 1926. In 1965 ''SC Enschede'' merged with their rivals Enschedese Boys to form FC Twente (both c ...

were interested. Enschedese Boys were champions of eastern Netherlands in 1950 and appeared to have the best claim on the stadium. The city council of Enschede pushed for the clubs to merge but this was refused by the three clubs. On 8 August 1956 the Diekman was opened with a match between Sportclub Enschede and Preußen Münster from Germany attended by 22,000 spectators.

Abe Lenstra Abe Minderts Lenstra (27 November 1920 – 2 September 1985) was a Dutch footballer and national football icon in the 1950s who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest players ever to hail from the Netherlands. He was als ...

scored the first goal from a penalty and the match ended in a 3–0 win for Sportclub Enschede. In 1965 Sportclub Enschede merged with Enschedese Boys to create

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese ...

and on 12 August 1965 FC Twente became the occupant of the Diekman stadium in a friendly match against Aston Villa. On 3 November 1968 FC Twente won a home match against Ajax with 5-1 for a home crowd of 26,500 spectators which was the attendance record for the Diekman. On 22 April 1998 the last match was played in the stadium when FC Twente beat SC Heerenveen with 3–1 in front of 10,000 spectators. Martijn Abbenhues scored the last goal in the Diekman. FC Twente moved to the newly built Arke Stadium which was later expanded to form the current Grolsch Veste. The last sporting event in the Diekman was the 30th Marathon of Enschede on 7 June 1998 won by Ahmed Salah and the stadium was subsequently demolished.

References

Sports venues in Overijssel Multi-purpose stadiums in the Netherlands Defunct football venues in the Netherlands Buildings and structures in Enschede FC Twente Sports venues completed in 1956 1956 establishments in the Netherlands 1998 disestablishments in the Netherlands {{Netherlands-sports-venue-stub