Olympic Stadium (Amsterdam)

The Olympic Stadium was designed by architect Jan Wils, and is one of the finest examples of Amsterdamse School architecture, complementing the surrounding neighbourhood designed by H.P. Berlage. The design won the Olympic gold medal in the architecture competition at the 1928 Olympics. The concrete second ring that was added in 1937 to the north and south wing of the stadium was also designed by Jan Wils. Development history The original plan of Jan Wils consisted of an extension of the Harry Elte stadium that was situated next to the current Olympic Stadium. This plan was rejected as the municipal government of Amsterdam had planned an important urban development programme in that area, and wanted to demolish the stadium as soon as possible. The second plan was almost fully executed, and consisted of a new Olympic Stadium that was situated more westward. In January 1926, the Amsterdam municipal government, the National Olympic Committee and the NV Nederlandsch Sportpark—the owner of the Harry Elte stadium—reached an agreement; after the Olympic Games of 1928, the Harry Elte stadium would be demolished and the NV Nederlandsch Sportpark would be the owner of the Olympic Stadium. Starting in January 1926, the area in which the stadium was to be built was elevated by means of 750,000 cubic metres of sand. This phase was completed in October of that year and in the same month the construction of the pile foundation began. On 18 May 1927, the ceremonial first stone was placed by Prince Hendrik. Some two million stones would follow. Characteristics The football pitch measures 114 by 75 metres. The athletics track around it is eight metres wide and has a perimeter of 400 metres. The cycle track around the athletics track was nine metres wide and had a perimeter of 500 metres. After the Games the NOC admitted that the capacity of the stadium was somewhere near 31,600. Additional seats could be added on the cycle track, which would increase the capacity by 5,900. In 2007, the area around the stadium was renovated as part of larger urban renewal project covering the entire Olympic area. North of the stadium 969 houses were completed in 2008. In the same year, the islands in the river Schinkel to the west of the stadium were suited with tennis fields and football pitches, an athletics track and a park. The Stadionplein square in front of the stadium was also recently renovated. Two new bridges were also built around the stadium: to the south there is a new bridge suitable for all traffic, the Na Druk Gelukbrug, and to the Schinkel islands in the west there is a cyclists and pedestrian bridge, called Jan Wilsbrug. ==Use after the Olympic Games==

The stadium hosted several international matches of the Netherlands national football team, the first one being the game against Uruguay (0–2) during the Summer Olympics on 30 May 1928. The last one was a friendly on 6 September 1989 against Denmark (2–2). After the Olympics, the stadium was used regularly for various sporting events, including athletics, speedway, field hockey and cycling. The 1954 Tour de France, for example, started outside the stadium. However, it was football that remained the most popular. It was both the home ground of Blauw Wit and BVC Amsterdam (later merged into FC Amsterdam), while Ajax used the stadium for games in which the crowd was expected to exceed the capacity of its own De Meer Stadion (in practice, most of their international matches) or for midweek games which required the use of floodlights, with which the De Meer was not initially suited. Ajax continued this arrangement until the completion of the Amsterdam Arena in 1996, since 2018 renamed the Johan Cruijff Arena. The Olympic Stadium was the host venue for the 1987 FIM Speedway World Championship Final. The event, held for the first and only time over two days (thus consisting of two separate meetings with the riders aggregate score determining their placing), was won by defending World Champion Hans Nielsen from Denmark. Second was fellow Dane and former twice (1984 and 1985) World Champion Erik Gundersen, while finishing third was American rider Sam Ermolenko (himself a future World Champion in 1993). The speedway track was laid out over the stadiums existing athletics track. The only Dutchman in the field Henny Kroeze (who had been seeded to the final so as to have at least one Dutch rider in the field), finished 16th and last in the Final after scoring only one point over the two days with the point coming in his fifth and final ride of the first day. The Amsterdam Admirals played their inaugural season in the World League of American Football in 1995, and the 1996 season, at the stadium, prior to moving to the Amsterdam Arena. The stadium hosted World Bowl '95. The stadium hosted the 2016 European Athletics Championships. Because of this, an athletics track was added to the plan for the nearby Park Schinkeleilanden at the last moment. The athletics track in that nearby park, which could be a warming up track when using the main track in the Olympic Stadium for racing, was opened in 2008. The stadium also serves as the start and finish of the Amsterdam Marathon, held every October. In 2014, the stadium was temporarily fitted with a long track speedskating rink, and hosted the Dutch national championship in Allround and Sprint.{{cite web The stadium is also a tourist attraction. Tourists especially come from the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Belgium and Canada, and tours are available in Dutch, German, Greek, English and French. The Olympic stadium now also offers spaces around the field for over 30 businesses. ==Famous football games==

Famous games, apart from the Olympic Games, include: • 1962 European Cup final between Benfica and Real Madrid, ended 5–3 for Benfica. • De Mistwedstrijd ("The Fog Match"); Ajax's 5–1 victory over Liverpool on 7 December 1966. • 1972 Intercontinental Cup second leg between Ajax (winners of the European Cup) and Independiente from Argentina (winners of the Copa Libertadores). The match ended in a 3–0 win for Ajax, after a 1–1 draw in Argentina. • 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup final between Hamburger SV and Anderlecht, Hamburger SV won 2–0. • The second leg of the 1981 UEFA Cup final between Ipswich Town and AZ (then known as AZ '67). AZ won the match 4–2, but with Ipswich winning the first leg 3–0 at Portman Road, Ipswich won the trophy 5–4 on aggregate. • The second leg of the 1992 UEFA Cup final between Ajax and Torino. The match ended in a 0–0 draw, but as the result of the first game in Stadio delle Alpi had been another draw (2-2), Ajax won the trophy on away goals. • The second leg of the 1995 UEFA Super Cup between Ajax and Spanish side Real Zaragoza on 28 February 1996. After a 1–1 draw in Spain, Ajax won the home game 4–0. ==See also==