was a

baseball stadium A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

Nishinomiya, Hyōgo 270px, Nishinomiya City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 270px, Hirota Shrine is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density of 48 ...

, Japan. The stadium was opened in 1937 and had a capacity of 35,000 people. It was used as a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

stadium too. It was primarily used for

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and was home of the

Orix Braves The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefect ...

(

Hankyu Braves The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

), until they moved to Kobe Stadium, in 1991. In 1946, during the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

while much of the country was being rebuilt, it was temporarily the shared home of the

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

performed a concert there for their

Hot Space Tour The Hot Space Tour was the ninth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen in support of their 1982 album ''Hot Space''. The tour started on the 9th of April in Gothenburg, Sweden and ended, after sixty-nine concerts, in Tokorozaw ...

in 1982.

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

performed three sold-out concerts at the stadium during her

Blond Ambition Tour The Blond Ambition World Tour (billed as Blond Ambition World Tour 90) was the third concert tour by American singer Madonna. It supported her fourth studio album '' Like a Prayer'' (1989), and the soundtrack album to the 1990 film '' Dick Tra ...

in April 1990.

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

also performed three sold-out concerts at the venue during his

Bad World Tour Bad was the first solo concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson, launched in support of his seventh studio album '' Bad'' (1987). Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts for over 4.4 million fans across ...

in 1987.

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

performed two sold-out concerts at the stadium during her Stadium Tour 2002 A. The stadium was closed on December 31, 2002 and was demolished from September 1, 2004 until 2005. Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens, a shopping mall containing a

Hankyu Department Store is a Japanese department store chain owned by , a subsidiary of H2O Retailing Corporation. Stores *Umeda, Osaka - Main Store (''Honten'') **Hankyu Men's *Kobe **formerly Sogo Department Stores * Takarazuka * Kawanishi * Senri *Takatsuki, Takat ...

, an

Izumiya is a Japanese supermarket chain operated by . The company was acquired by H2O Retailing in 2014, making it a wholly owned subsidiary, to raise its profile in the Kansai region. It operates the Qanat department stores as well as separate Izumi ...

supermarket,

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

cinemas, and dozens of smaller clothing, fashion, and food outlets, was opened on November 26, 2008, on the vacant lot where the stadium used to be.

References

External links

Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens official website
* Picture of old Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium Defunct baseball venues in Japan Defunct football venues in Japan Orix BlueWave Hankyu Railway Defunct American football venues in Japan Sports venues in Hyōgo Prefecture 1937 establishments in Japan Sports venues completed in 1937 2002 disestablishments in Japan Sports venues demolished in 2005 Nishinomiya Demolished buildings and structures in Japan {{Japan-baseball-venue-stub

See also

References

External links