De Kuip

Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. 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, exporting coal from Germany to Britain through neutral Netherlands.

In World War II, 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, volleyball and handball.

Commercial uses

Football history

De Kuip is currently the home stadium of football club Feyenoord, 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 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 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 defeated Italy 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, with special guest Eric Clapton, on 23 June 1978. David Bowie 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 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 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 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

References

External links

*

De Kuip
at 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