Zuiderparkstadion (,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for ''Southern Park Stadium'') was an 11,000-seat stadium in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

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 the home of football club ADO Den Haag. For many years after the club's inauguration in 1905, they played football in many different temporary venues, eventually settling in the 'Zuiderpark' in 1925. The stadium was temporarily abandoned on 21 February 1945, near the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The War left the club lacking funds with which to maintain the ground. Reportedly,

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s were allowed to graze on the abandoned field. The cold winter conditions of 1946-47 left the stadium in a deplorable state, with the covered tribune the only stand left in a serviceable condition. Nevertheless, plans were afoot to renovate the stadium and to expand its capacity; these were completed in 1949 and the first game played was on 9 August 1949 between ADO Den Haag and Feyenoord Rotterdam. In 1957, the capacity of the renovated stadium was expanded still further to 25,000 spectators. Later, on 8 March 1973, the stadium entered its modern age with a new club building housing a restaurant, among several other modern amenities catering to the players and club members. On 3 April 1982, hooligans of the club burned down the South Tribune. The fire was set after a 4–0 loss to HFC Haarlem. It damaged the ground's oldest stand dating back to 1928 and caused $500,000 in damages. The damaged part was rebuilt and opened in 1986. On 7 November 1993, the North Tribune was renamed 'Aad Mansveldtribune', after Aad Mansveld. In 1994, the municipality of

decided to develop the 'Zuiderpark' as a 'football theatre' and the West Tribune 'Jan Knijnenburg Gezinstribune' was inaugurated at around this time. It was renamed the 'Hyundaitribune' in 2001. On 22 April 2007 ADO played their last home game in the Zuiderpark Stadium. The following season they moved to the Den Haag Stadion.

References

Defunct football venues in the Netherlands Sports venues in The Hague ADO Den Haag {{Netherlands-sports-venue-stub