King Baudouin Stadium

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Koning Boudewijnstadion Stade Roi Baudouin
Location	Brussels, Belgium
Opened	23 August, 1930
Renovated	1995 (37 million euros)
Owner
Surface	Grass
Former names	Stade du Jubilé or Jubelstadion (1930-1946) Heizelstadion or Stade du Heysel (1946-1985)
Tenants	Belgium national football team Belgium national rugby union team Royal Excelsior Sports Club de Bruxelles (Athletics)
Capacity	50,122
Field dimensions	106 x 66m

See also Heysel Stadium disaster

The King Baudouin Stadium (French: Stade Roi Baudouin, Dutch: Koning Boudewijnstadion) is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. It was inaugurated on August 23, 1930 (days after Belgium's 100th anniversary) as the Stade du Jubilé or Jubelstadion (Jubilee Stadium) in the presence of Prince Leopold. It was built to embellish the Heysel plateau in view of the 1935 World's Fair. The stadium hosted 70,000 at the time. A wooden track for cycling races was later added around the lawn.

After World War II the stadium was progressively called Heysel Stadium. It hosted European Cup finals in 1958, 1966, 1974, and 1985 and Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1964, 1976, and 1980. The highest attendance at a European game was over 66,000 in 1958. Following the Heysel Stadium disaster of May 29, 1985, the ground was only used for athletics and it still hosts the Memorial Van Damme every year.

A decade after the disaster the ground was rebuilt and renamed at a cost of BEF 1,500 million (around $50 million in 1995). As the Koning Boudewijnstadion/ Stade Roi Baudouin (named after King Baudouin I) it combined the football ground with a running track and facilities for field events. It was re-opened on August 23, 1995 as the stadium for the national team and is the largest stadium in Belgium; it can seat 50,024 spectators. It hosted the opening game for Euro 2000.

On May 26, 2006 the Belgian Football Association decided not to use King Baudouin Stadium anymore for the national team home matches and for the Cup final, because the gates of stand one were too narrow and the stadium was deemed unsafe. The next match of the national team was thus held at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium. Because of this, the city of Brussels issued a complaint that the stadium was safe in contrary to the reports and this complaint was ruled to be correct in court. On October 6, 2006, the KBVB/URBSFA met with representatives of the city of Brussels and together they agreed to renew the contract and extend it to June 30, 2008. Since November 15, 2006 the Belgian national football team again uses the King Baudouin Stadium.

[edit] Heysel Stadium Silver Coin

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the stadium (and the 100th anniversary of Derby's team) the Belgian state released a commemorative coin: the 10 euro 70 years of Heysel Stadium commemorative coin. The obverse depicts an image of a footballer with the stadium in the background. The flags of Belgium and the Netherlands can be seen on top of the stadium as well as the year that the stadium was built.

[edit] External links

• (French) Belgian FA official website - history
• (Dutch) Belgian FA official website - history

Coordinates: 50°53′44.54″N, 4°20′2.70″E

Preceded by Santiago Bernabéu Madrid	European Cup Final Venue 1958	Succeeded by Neckarstadion Stuttgart
Preceded by De Kuip Rotterdam	UEFA Cup Winners Cup Final Venue 1964	Succeeded by Wembley Stadium London
Preceded by San Siro Milan	European Cup Final Venue 1966	Succeeded by Estádio Nacional nr. Lisbon
Preceded by Stadio Olimpico Rome	UEFA European Football Championship Final Venue 1972	Succeeded by Stadion Crvena Zvezda Belgrade
Preceded by Stadion Crvena Zvezda Belgrade	European Cup Final Venue 1974	Succeeded by Parc des Princes Paris
Preceded by St. Jakob Stadium Basel	UEFA Cup Winners Cup Final Venue 1976	Succeeded by Olympic Stadium Amsterdam
Preceded by St. Jakob Stadium Basel	UEFA Cup Winners Cup Final Venue 1980	Succeeded by Rheinstadion Düsseldorf
Preceded by Stadio Olimpico Rome	European Cup Final Venue 1985	Succeeded by Sánchez Pizjuán Seville
Preceded by Parc des Princes Paris	UEFA Cup Winners Cup Final Venue 1996	Succeeded by De Kuip Rotterdam

Euro 2000 venues v • d • e
Netherlands Amsterdam ArenA (Amsterdam) | Gelredome (Arnhem) | Philips Stadion (Eindhoven) | De Kuip (Rotterdam) Belgium Jan Breydel Stadion (Bruges) | King Baudouin Stadium (Brussels) | Stade du Pays de Charleroi (Charleroi) | Stade Maurice Dufrasne (Liège)