Old Stadion (Amsterdam)

The Oude Stadion (Old Stadium), officially known as Het Nederlandsch Sportpark (The Dutch Sports Park), and colloquially known as the Stadion (until 1928), was a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The stadium was built after the design by Harry Elte, with which he had won the contest for a national stadium in 1912.

Oude Stadion
Map
Full nameNederlandsch Sportpark
Former namesHarry Elte Stadium
LocationAmsterdam, Netherlands
Coordinates52°20′40″N 4°51′35″E / 52.344506°N 4.859717°E / 52.344506; 4.859717
Capacity29,000 seats
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Built1913–1914
Renovated1928
Demolished1929
ArchitectHarry Elte
Tenants
FC Blauw-Wit

The stadium was completed in 1914. For some time it was the only stadium with brick stands in the country. Prior to the construction of the Olympic Stadium used for the 1928 Summer Olympics, it was the primary stadium used for the city until the 1928 Games. This was to the fact that the stadium could not handle track running and track cycling events though it could accommodate football games, seating 29,000.

The Old Stadion in 1914
Construction of the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium, next to the Old Stadion
Finished Olympic Stadium with the Old Stadion in the background

The addition of running lanes and a cycling track would have reduced the capacity to 17,000. Despite this, the old stadium did host some of the field hockey and football events for the 1928 Games.

The stadium was demolished in 1929 to make way for the projected housing, part of Hendrik Petrus Berlage's Plan Zuid. The area is still known as Stadionbuurt, after the Old Stadium.

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