Het Houten Stadion (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''The Wooden Stadium'') is a former stadium of

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

which served as the team's home stadium from 1907 to 1934.

History

Het Houten Stadion is a former stadium of AFC Ajax. Before Ajax moved to this stadium, they had played on a field in

Amsterdam-Noord Amsterdam-Noord (; ) is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands with a population of about 90,000. The IJ, the body of water which separates it from Amsterdam-Centrum and the rest of the city, is situated southwest of Amsterdam-Noord. The borough, whi ...

. Houses had been built on their field in 1907 which sent Ajax searching for a new place to play. The club found two locations in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Watergraafsmeer The Watergraafsmeer is a polder in the Netherlands. It was reclaimed in 1629. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were many buitenplaatsen in the Watergraafsmeer, though nowadays only one, Frankendael, remains. Since 1921, the Watergraafsmee ...

losing their previous pitch to housing development. Both new places were located on the

Polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

, but were closer than the former field in Noord. In the early years of the grounds there was no actual stadium, there were no stands, no water and the players would change and get ready in a bar nearby. The first stands were built in 1911 with covered seating on one side, and standing tribunes on the other. In 1916 the stands were built behind both goal lines. Designed by architect and Ajax-member Daan Roodenburgh, the funding for the stadium came from Wim Eggerman, a local businessman, who was the president of the club at the time. With the success of

in the 1930s the stadium became too small. Every match more people would come to see Ajax play, the last

Klassieker De Klassieker (''The Classic'') is the main football rivalry of the Netherlands, between Ajax (of Amsterdam) and Feyenoord (of Rotterdam). The record attendance was on 9 January 1966, when 65,562 watched in Rotterdam. History Amsterdam vs Rott ...

match to be played at Het Houten Stadion against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

was so busy, no corners could be taken during that match because there were spectators spilling out on to the pitch. 15,000 spectators attended that match. On 9 December 1934, Ajax moved to their new

De Meer Stadion De Meer Stadion () is the former stadium of Dutch record football champions Ajax. It was opened in 1934 as a result of the club's former stadium being too small. Upon completion, it could hold 22,000 spectators, but accommodating up to 29,500 at ...

. In 1936, Daan Roodenburgh competed in the

Art competitions at the 1936 Summer Olympics Art competitions were held as part of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Medals were awarded in five categories (architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture), for works inspired by sport-related themes. The art exhibitio ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in the Mixed Architecture event for Sports venues with his construction of Het Houten Stadion. There is now an Albert Heijn situated in the location of the former main entrance to the stadium on Middenweg in the Watergraafsmeer.

References

External links

Het Houten Stadion at Ajax.nl
Architecture in the Netherlands Defunct football venues in the Netherlands

Het Houten Stadion Het Houten Stadion ( English: ''The Wooden Stadium'') is a former stadium of AFC Ajax which served as the team's home stadium from 1907 to 1934. History Het Houten Stadion is a former stadium of AFC Ajax. Before Ajax moved to this stadium, they h ...

Sports venues in Amsterdam Amsterdam-Oost Sports venues completed in 1907 1907 establishments in the Netherlands {{Netherlands-sports-venue-stub