Stadium of Light

Not Yet Rated

1 Star

2 Star

3 Star

4 Star

5 Star

Updated On :09 Apr, 2021

Full Name
Stadium of Light

Capacity
48,707

Type
Outdoor

Location
Sunderland, England, United Kingdom

Surface Type
Grass

The Stadium of Light is an all-seater stadium, located in the Sunderland, England. It was completed in 1997 at the construction cost of £24 million. It is the eighth-largest English football stadium and the sixth-largest Premier League stadium that has hosted many soccer events for England national football team, England under-20 football team apart from Sunderland games. It is the home stadium of popular English football club Sutherland AFC. The stadium is constructed in the shape of a square bowl. The ground of the stadium is several meters below as compared to the level of the ground outside. It underwent expansion in 2002 to increase the seating capacity. In 2006, a statue of Bob Stokoe (one of the prominent English Footballers and former manager of Sunderland) was established here. Apart from hosting various national and international level soccer events, it has also been used for concerts where celebrities such as Coldplay, Kings of Leon; Take That, Oasis, Rihanna, and Beyoncé perform in front of around thousands of people.

Trivia

To symbolize the coal mine industry by which the city came to prominence, a Davy lamp monument was placed in front of the stadium's ticket office.
The stadium has been named so to honor the miners of the area, being Sunderland fans.
Before choosing the official name, it was also commonly referred as "Wearside Stadium" and "New Roker Park."

Significance

It has also played host to the "Euro 2004 qualifying match" which was the first competitive England match in 2003 against Turkey where England won by 2-0.
In 2006, Stadium of Light was named the “Best Away Ground”.
It has also hosted the annual graduation ceremony of the University of Sunderland for the students.
It hosted its first England game with a friendly match in 1999 against Belgium which was won by England with a score of 2-1.
The Stadium of Light recorded the maximum attendance in 2002 when Sunderland played against Liverpool, winning the match by 1-0.
In 2007 Sunderland celebrated the 10th anniversary of the stadium with a pre-season friendly match against Juventus.
In 2007, "RSVP" magazine honored the stadium for the most creative use of a sporting venue.