Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a
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 ...
in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
,
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the
Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from
the club with the same name (although the club's name was internationalised to Feyenoord in 1973).
The stadium's original capacity was 64,000. In 1949, it was expanded to 69,000, and in 1994 it was converted to a 51,117-seat
all-seater. In 1999, a significant amount of restoration and interior work took place at the stadium before its use as a venue in the
UEFA Euro 2000 tournament, although capacity was largely unaffected.
History
Leen van Zandvliet, Feyenoord's president in the 1930s, came up with the idea of building an entirely new stadium, unlike any other on the continent, with two free hanging tiers and no obstacles blocking the view. Contemporary examples were
Highbury, where the West and East stands had been recently built as a double deck, and
Yankee Stadium in
New York.
Johannes Brinkman and
Leendert van der Vlugt, the famous designers of the
Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam were asked to design a stadium out of glass, concrete and steel, cheap materials at that time. The stadium was co-financed by the billionaire
Daniël George van Beuningen, who made his fortune in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, exporting
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
from Germany to Britain through neutral Netherlands.
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the stadium was nearly torn down for scrap by German occupiers. After the war, the stadium's capacity was expanded in 1949; stadium lights were added in 1958. On 29 October 1991, De Kuip was named as being one of Rotterdam's monuments.
In 1994 the stadium was extensively renovated to its present form:
It became all-seater, and the roof was extended to cover all the seats. An extra building was constructed for commercial use by Feyenoord, it also houses a restaurant and a museum, The Home of History.
Failed new stadium plans
From 2006, Feyenoord began working on plans for a new stadium, initially planned for completion in 2017 and with an estimated capacity of 85,000 seats. In 2014, Feyenoord decided to renovate the existing stadium, expanding its capacity to 70,000, as well as adding a retractable roof. Construction was planned to start in summer 2015 and finish in 2018, with an estimated €200 million cost. Plans included a new training facility costing an extra €16 million.
In March 2016, Feyenoord announced that they instead preferred building a new stadium. In May 2017, the city of Rotterdam agreed with a plan to build a new stadium with a capacity of 63,000 seats. In December 2019, Feyenoord announced that if construction of the new stadium was given the final go-ahead in 2020 the stadium would open in the summer of 2025. On 21 April 2022, managing director Dennis te Kloesse announced that the club would not proceed with renovating the existing stadium or building a new one.
Facilities and related buildings
Next to De Kuip and Feyenoord's training ground there is another, but smaller, sports arena, the
Topsportcentrum Rotterdam. This arena hosts events in many sports and in various levels of competition. Some examples of sports that can be seen in the Topsportcentrum are
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
,
volleyball and
handball.
Commercial uses
Football history
De Kuip is currently the home stadium of football club
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...
, traditionally one of the top teams in the Netherlands. It has also long been one of the home grounds of the
Netherlands national football team, having hosted over 150 international matches, the first international match at the stadium was a match against
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
on 2 May 1937. In 1963, De Kuip staged the
final of the
European Cup Winners' Cup, with
Tottenham Hotspur becoming the first British club to win a European trophy, defeating
Atlético Madrid 5–1. The stadium has hosted a record ten European finals, the last being the
2002 UEFA Cup Final in which Feyenoord, coincidentally playing a home match, defeated
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...
3–2. As a result, Feyenoord holds the distinction of being the only club to win a one-legged European final in their own stadium. In 2000, the Feijenoord stadium hosted the
final of
Euro 2000, played in the Netherlands and Belgium, where
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
defeated
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
2–1 in extra time.
The stadium also hosted the
2023 UEFA Nations League Final.
Concerts
The stadium has hosted concerts since 1978. The first show was headlined by
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, with special guest
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
, on 23 June 1978.
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
held his dress rehearsals and subsequently opened his 1987
Glass Spider Tour at the stadium.
In 1995,
René Froger became the first Dutch artist to headline at De Kuip, and he sold out two shows. In 2008,
Kane became the first Dutch band to headline the stadium. In 2019,
Marco Borsato held five concerts at De Kuip to increase his total to 14, breaking
The Rolling Stones' past venue record of 10.
In April 2024, the municipality of
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
announced that with the construction of new houses nearby concerts would no longer take place at De Kuip beginning in 2026, to eliminate
noise pollution
Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...
in the area. De Kuip will receive 12 million euros from Rotterdam as compensation. Three concerts from the Dutch band
Di-rect from 12 to 14 June 2025 are scheduled to be the final shows in the stadium.
Euro 2000
2023 UEFA Nations League Finals
One of the venues of the
2023 UEFA Nations League Finals.
Average attendance numbers per season, 1937–2007
Gallery
File:De Kuip Rotterdam The Netherlands.jpg, De Kuip from above
File:DeKuipdak2006.jpg, Inside the stadium
File:De Kuip2006.jpg, Another view inside the stadium
File:Feyenoord Helicopter 05.jpg, Feyenoord helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
entering the stadium
File:Detail, belettering Stadion Feijenoord - Rotterdam - 20349852 - RCE.jpg
File:Overzicht vanaf de straat - Rotterdam - 20349853 - RCE.jpg
File:Overzicht - Rotterdam - 20349854 - RCE.jpg
File:Stadion Feijenoord plattegrond.svg
See also
*
Football in the Netherlands
*
Lists of stadiums
*
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
References
External links
*
De Kuipat Footballmatch.de
on Google Maps
3D format on Google Earth()
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuip
1937 establishments in the Netherlands
20th-century architecture in the Netherlands
Feyenoord
Football venues in the Netherlands
Rijksmonuments in Rotterdam
Sports venues completed in 1937
Sports venues in Rotterdam
UEFA European Championship final stadiums