AFAS Stadion is a stadium in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is used for football matches and is the home stadium of

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and hos ...

. The stadium is able to hold 19.478 people and bears the name of a Dutch software company. Due to UEFA's sponsorship regulations, the stadium is named AZ Stadion in European matches.

History

It officially opened on 4 August 2006 with a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. AZ lost 3–0, with

Gilberto Silva Gilberto Aparecido da Silva (; born 7 October 1976) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder most notably for English Premier League club Arsenal, Super League club Panathinaikos F.C., Clube Atlét ...

scoring the stadium's first ever goal. The first

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

game, against

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Divi ...

, was won 8–1 by AZ with German midfielder Simon Cziommer scoring a hat-trick. AFAS Stadion replaces the club's former ground, Alkmaarder Hout. The main stand is called Victorie Tribune, the stand with the fanatic supporters is called Van der Ben Tribune (Ben-Side), the stand behind the other goal is called the Alkmaarderhouttribune, in honour of the former stadium, and the stand opposite to the main stand is called Molenaar Tribune after the founders of AZ. The official name is AFAS Stadion, but some supporters call it Victorie Stadion, a name that alludes to the turning point victory over Spanish troops besieging Alkmaar during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Re ...

. In order to further grow the club's budget, the AZ Board made the decision to increase the stadium's capacity to 30,000 seats. This was to be achieved by adding a second tier to 3 of the 4 stands, leaving the Victorie Tribune as is. Construction was to begin in the second half of 2010, but it never got underway as the club's main sponsor and one of the main financial contributors to the project, DSB Bank went bankrupt shortly before work started. Therefore, the capacity remained at 17,023. On 10 August 2019, the roof of the stadium partially collapsed. No people were injured during the incident. As a result, AZ spent the rest of the year playing home matches at the Cars Jeans Stadion in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

. During the 2020-2021 season, the stadium was renovated. A new roof has been put into place with a greater surface and the capacity was increased to hold around 19,500 fans.

References

External links

*
The stadium on AZ official site
AZ Alkmaar Football venues in the Netherlands Multi-purpose stadiums in the Netherlands Sports venues in Alkmaar {{Netherlands-sports-venue-stub