The National Stadium of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

( th, สนามกีฬาแห่งชาติ or กรีฑาสถานแห่งชาติ) is a

sports complex A sports complex is a group of sports facilities. For example, there are track and field stadiums, football stadiums, baseball stadiums, swimming pools, and Indoor arenas. This area is a sports complex, for fitness. Olympic Park is also a kind ...

located in

Pathum Wan District Pathum Wan ( th, ปทุมวัน, ) is one of the fifty districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It lies just beyond the old city boundary of Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem, and was a rural area on the eastern outskirts of the city when roya ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

. Founded in 1937 with the construction of Supachalasai Stadium (; ), its main venue, the complex has since expanded and now consists of multiple stadia and sporting facilities.

History

The stadium construction started in 1937 in the original area of Thai Windsor Palace that demolished in 1935. The Department of Physical Education entered into a 29-year lease agreement with

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU, th, จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, ), nicknamed Chula ( th, จุฬาฯ), is a public and autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally fo ...

. First use of the stadium happened when King

Ananda Mahidol Ananda Mahidol ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; ; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin ( th, พระอั� ...

presided over in the opening ceremony of 1938 men's athletics competition, which changed the venue from

Sanam Luang Sanam Luang ( th, สนามหลวง, ; lit: 'royal turf') is a open field and public square in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand. Sanam Luang is in the Phra Nakhon District, the historic center of Bangkok. ...

. It is used mostly for

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 ...

matches. It served as the main stadium for the

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

, and

1978 Asian Games The 8th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was de ...

. It was also used for the

2007 AFC Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its h ...

, but only for one game (Oman v Iraq in Group A). The stadium is easy for spectators to get to as it is served by the

BTS Skytrain The Bangkok Mass Transit System, commonly known as the BTS Skytrain ( th, รถไฟฟ้าบีทีเอส '' TS'), is an elevated rapid transit system in Bangkok, Thailand. It is operated by Bangkok Mass Transit System PCL (BTSC), a ...

which stops at the '

National Stadium BTS station National Stadium station ( th, สถานีสนามกีฬาแห่งชาติ; ) is a BTS Skytrain station on the Silom Line in Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, Thailand. Nearby landmarks The station is located on Rama I Road to t ...

' right next to the stadium. The stadium is a single tier construction which is uncovered on three sides. A plain but effective roof covers the main-stand side. Although there is a running track, the tribunes are immediately adjacent to it so spectators are not as far from the action as they are at the newer

Rajamangala Stadium The Rajamangala National Stadium ( th, ราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน; , ) is the national stadium of Thailand. It is part of the Hua Mak Sports Complex, and is located in Hua Mak Subdistrict, Bang Kapi, Bangkok. It officia ...

. Spectator comfort was increased in 2007 with the addition of red bench seats to the previously bare concrete steps on the three open sides. Thai league clubs often play at the Suphachalasai in Asian competitions as their own stadiums do not meet

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...

criteria. However, it is now rarely used by the national team who usually play at the

Rajamangala National Stadium The Rajamangala National Stadium ( th, ราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน; , ) is the national stadium of Thailand. It is part of the Hua Mak Sports Complex, and is located in Hua Mak Subdistrict, Bang Kapi, Bangkok. It officia ...

. Other stadiums in Bangkok include the

Thai Army Sports Stadium The Royal Thai Army Stadium ( th, สนามกีฬากองทัพบก) is a multi-purpose stadium on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in the Phaya Thai of north Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium ...

, the

Thai-Japanese Stadium The Thai-Japanese Stadium (Japanese: タイ・ジャパニーズ・スタジアム; th, ศูนย์เยาวชนกรุงเทพมหานคร), also called Thai-Japanese Bangkok Youth Center ( is a multi-purpose stadium in Din ...

and

Chulalongkorn University Stadium The Chulalongkorn University Stadium, formerly Charusathian Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium owned by Chulalongkorn University in Pathumwan, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Chulalongkorn Soi 9 in Pathumwan in the centre of Bangkok and holds 20,000. ...

. On 24 and 27 August 1993, Entertainer

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 ...

performed 2 concerts there during his ''

Dangerous World Tour The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson to promote his eighth studio album ''Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various charities including Jacks ...

'' in front of 140,000 in attendance.

Stadium Facility

Suphachalasai Stadium

Suphachalasai Stadium is the majority part of the National Stadium. It is the

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 ...

with

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

for athletic purposes, as well as a partial roof on one of its side. With its capacity of 19,793, the stadium is being used to hold important matches such as the

Thai FA Cup The Thai FA Cup ( th, ไทยเอฟเอคัพ), known officially as The Football Association of Thailand Cup, is a football cup competition in Thailand. Thai FA Cup is an annual knockout association football competition in men's domestic ...

and

Thai League Cup The League Cup ( th, ไทยลีกคัพ) is a football cup competition in Thailand. It is also known as Toyota League Cup for sponsorship reasons. It was re-formed during the 2010 domestic football league season in Thailand and runs alon ...

. The stadium named after Luang Supachalasai (Bung Supachalasai), considered the Father of Thai Sport and the first Director-General of Thai Department of Physical Education.

Thephasadin Stadium

Thephasadin Stadium Thephasadin Stadium ( th, สนามเทพหัสดิน) is a multi-purpose stadium within the grounds of Thailand's National Stadium (Thailand), National Stadium in Bangkok's Pathum Wan District. It is currently used mostly for foot ...

was constructed in 1965 for the use in

1966 Asian Games The 1966 Asian Games (), also known as the V Asiad, were a continental multi-sport event that was held from 9 to 20 December 1966, in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 142 events in 16 sports were contested by athletes during the games. Taiwan and Isr ...

as the Hockey venue, hence its original name, Hockey Field. It was renamed in 1983 in memorial of

Sanan Thephasadin na Ayutthaya Sanan Devahastin na Ayudhya (also spelled Thephasadin among other variants; th, สนั่น เทพหัสดิน ณ อยุธยา, , ; 1 January 1877 – 1 February 1943), better known by his noble title Chaophraya Thammasakmont ...

, considered the Father of Thai Football. With its capacity of 6,378 seats, it was retired from being the hockey stadium.

Jindarat Stadium

Jindarat Stadium, constructed after the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, was formerly used as the outdoor stadium for medium-level sporting events and practicing purposes. It was originally named ''Ton Pho Stadium'', but was renamed in 1983 in memorial of Jindarat (Jamlong Sawat-chuto), former director of the Office of Sports and Recreation Development.

Wisutamol Pool

Wisutamol Pool was constructed in 1961 under the term of director Kong Wisutamol. It was the

Olympic-size swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cour ...

with two sides of stands, used for the competition and general practices. Originally named the Olympic Pool, it was renamed in memorial of the director Wisutamol who organized the construction.

Nimibutr Stadium

Nimibutr Stadium Nimibutr Stadium (sometimes referred to as Nimibutr Gymnasium) is an indoor sporting arena located in Bangkok, Thailand. The capacity of the arena is 5,600 spectators. It was built in 1963 and is part of the National Stadium complex. It is used ...

, opened in 1963 is an indoor stadium used for sports including boxing, badminton, gymnastics, futsal, basketball and handball.

Jhanthana-Yingyong Gymnasium

Jhanthana-Yingyong Gymnasium was built in 1965.

Notes and references

External links

{{2007 AFC Asian Cup stadiums

Football venues in Thailand Athletics (track and field) venues in Thailand Rugby union stadiums in Asia AFC Asian Cup stadiums Sports venues in Bangkok Stadiums of the Asian Games Venues of the 1966 Asian Games Venues of the 1970 Asian Games Venues of the 1978 Asian Games Venues of the 1998 Asian Games Asian Games athletics venues Asian Games football venues Southeast Asian Games stadiums Southeast Asian Games athletics venues Southeast Asian Games football venues Multi-purpose stadiums in Thailand Sports venues completed in 1935 Pathum Wan district 1935 establishments in Siam Property Management of Chulalongkorn University Asian Games water polo venues