The Stadio San Nicola ( en,

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

Stadium) is a multi-use all-seater stadium designed by

Renzo Piano Renzo Piano (; born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect. His notable buildings include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London (2012), the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City (20 ...

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, Italy. It is currently 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 and is the home stadium of

S.S.C. Bari Società Sportiva Calcio Bari, commonly referred to as Bari, is an Italian football club based in Bari, Apulia. Bari currently plays in the . The team finished the 2021–22 season in first place in Serie C and earned promotion to Serie B for ...

. The stadium's design resembles a flower. To create this particular design, the stadium consists of 26 'petals' and upper tiers of the higher ring separated by 8-metre empty spaces, sufficient to guarantee satisfactory security conditions. Being the fourth largest football stadium in Italy after

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

's Stadio Olimpico, and Naples's Stadio Diego Armando Maradona; as well as the second largest to be used by only one team, San Nicola holds 58,270 people, and was filled to capacity for the first time during a 2013–2014 Serie B playoff match for A.S. Bari in June 2014. Before that, the stadium's largest attendance was 52,000 for an A.S. Bari Serie A match during the 2009–10 season. The stadium was built in 1990 for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, during which it hosted five matches: Soviet Union national football team, Soviet Union vs. Romania national football team, Romania, Cameroon national football team, Cameroon vs. Romania national football team, Romania, and Cameroon national football team, Cameroon vs. Soviet Union national football team, Soviet Union in group B action; in the round of 16 matches, Czechoslovakia national football team, Czechoslovakia vs. Costa Rica national football team, Costa Rica; and the third place match between Italy national football team, Italy and England national football team, England. It hosted the 1991 European Cup Final, won by Red Star Belgrade. It was also the venue for the 1997 Mediterranean Games. The stadium hosted the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B between Italy and Scotland national football team, Scotland in March 2007, which Italy won 2–0, and was also a deciding match for the Unofficial World Football Championships. The Stadio San Nicola hosted Italy's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification against the Republic of Ireland national football team, Republic of Ireland on 1 April 2009. Italy were booed off the field after Ireland shocked the nation by scoring in the 87th minute. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. The Stadio San Nicola before a match between SSC Bari and AZ Picerno in February 2020

The Stadio San Nicola before a match between SSC Bari and AZ Picerno in February 2020

1990 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:

References

External links

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Stadiumguide Article

Video and photos of the San Nicola Stadium
S.S.C. Bari Football venues in Italy, San Nicola Serie A venues, San 1990 FIFA World Cup stadiums Buildings and structures in Bari Renzo Piano buildings Sports venues in Apulia Sports venues completed in 1990 {{Italy-sports-venue-stub