is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

located in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is the home stadium of

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

club

RB Omiya Ardija is a Japanese professional association football club based in Ōmiya, Saitama Prefecture. Its "hometown" (as designated by the league) is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. The team currently play in J2 League, the Japanese second ti ...

. It was formerly known as Omiya Football Stadium. Since 14 May 2007 it has been called for the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

History

Built in 1960, it was one of the first stadia in Japan dedicated to the code. The grandstands were added to host several matches of

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

and 1967

National Sports Festival of Japan The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...

. The stadium used to accommodate 12,500 spectators. In 2006-2007 it was closed for expansion works to meet the J. League Division 1 requirements for Ardija to host its home matches. Ardija used

Saitama Stadium 2002 , the or simply , is a football stadium located in Midori-ku, Saitama, Japan. Currently, J1 League club Urawa Red Diamonds use this stadium for home games. It is the largest football-specific stadium in Japan and is one of the largest stadi ...

and

Urawa Komaba Stadium The is an athletic stadium in Urawa-ku, Saitama, Japan. It accommodates 21,500 spectators. It was formerly known as Saitama Urawa Komaba Stadium (さいたま市駒場スタジアム). Since May 2012, it has been called Urawa Komaba Stadium. ...

until works were complete. From 14 May 2007 it would be called to reflect a six-year sponsorship from (JODV-FM, 79.5 MHz), an independent commercial radio station based in Ōmiya-ku and covering Saitama Prefecture. The expansion works were complete in October 2007 and since it accommodates 15,491 spectators. On 11 November, the re-opening match was held as a J. League season match between the Ardija and

Oita Trinita is a Japanese football club located in Ōita, Capital of Ōita Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football. Name origin The club's name, ''Trinita'', is the Italian translation of the word ' ...

(1-2).

In popular culture

In ''

Captain Tsubasa is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yōichi Takahashi. The series mainly revolves around the sport of association football focusing on Tsubasa Oozora and his relationship with his friends, rivalries with ...

'', the stadium was used for the High School National Championships.

References

1964 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 1. Part 1. p. 133.
Omiya Ardija stadium

External links

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FM NACK5
Football venues in Japan Omiya Ardija Venues of the 1964 Summer Olympics Sports venues in Saitama (city) Sports venues completed in 1960 1960 establishments in Japan {{Summer-Olympic-venue-stub