The , also known as The , is a football stadium in Misaki Park, Hyogo-ku, Kobe, Japan. The stadium has a capacity of 30,132. This stadium, which features a

retractable roof A retractable roof is a roof system designed to roll back the roof of a structure so that the interior of the facility is open to the outdoors. Retractable roofs are sometimes referred to as operable roofs or retractable skylights. The term op ...

, is the home ground of J1 League club

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matc ...

and the

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

Japan Rugby League One team Kobelco Kobe Steelers. In 1970, was opened at the site of the Kobe Keirin Track. It was the first football stadium in Japan to be able to host games at night following the installation of night lighting.

2002 FIFA World Cup

In order to host the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

, the stadium was renovated to install a removable roof and increase spectator capacity. It was opened under the name Kobe Wing Stadium in November 2001 with a capacity of 42,000. Reopened in 2003 with a reduced capacity of 32,000 Kobe Wing Stadium became the home of the

football club.

2019 Rugby World Cup

The stadium has been announced as one of the venues for

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

which will be the first

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

to be held in Asia.

Naming rights

In February 2007, Next Co., Ltd. (the owner of the real estate website "Home's") purchased the naming rights to the stadium from the city of Kobe for three years at a sum of 70 million yen per year. The stadium was renamed "Home's Stadium Kobe" on March 1, 2007, and the contract was renewed for a further three years in January 2010. In 2012, the city of Kobe sought tenders for a new naming sponsor. Kobe-based cosmetics company Noevir was the only bidder, and in February 2013, the city announced the conclusion of a three-year contract for the sum of 65 million yen per year. The stadium became known as Noevir Stadium Kobe on 1 March 2013.

References

External links

* {{2019 Rugby World Cup venues Buildings and structures in Kobe 2002 FIFA World Cup stadiums in Japan Football venues in Japan Rugby union stadiums in Japan Cricket grounds in Japan Vissel Kobe Retractable-roof stadiums in Japan Sports venues in Hyōgo Prefecture Tourist attractions in Kobe Sport in Kobe American football venues in Japan 2001 establishments in Japan Sports venues completed in 2001