(official name: ) is a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
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 ...
located in
Tokorozawa, Saitama
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,298 in 168,939 households and a population density of 4761 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Tokorozawa is ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. It is home to the
Saitama Seibu Lions
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway ...
, a professional baseball team.
The stadium has a roof over the field and the stands, like other indoor ballparks. However, it lacks a wall behind the stands so that natural air comes into the field. This makes it possible for
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s to leave the stadium, something not possible in typical domed stadiums.
The stadium was built in 1979 without the roof and named as the new home field of the Lions that moved from
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...
to Tokorozawa that year. Initially an open-air stadium, the installation of its roof took place in two phases: the first phase after the 1997 season, and the second phase after the 1998 seasons. At the beginning of the 1998 season, the stadium was renamed Seibu Dome although the domed roof had not completed yet.
Originally, the Lions had planned to build a new stadium in
Odaiba
is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge (Tokyo), Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built for defensive purposes in the 1850s. The land was dramatically expanded during the late 20th centur ...
, but due to requiring to get approval from the three other Tokyo-based teams at the time (the
Nippon-Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Ho ...
, the
Yomiuri Giants
The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...
, and the
Yakult Swallows), opposition from local fans, and the cost to build a new stadium, they decided to just add a roof to the stadium.
On March 1, 2005, the stadium was named as
Invoice Inc. bought the
naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...
of the stadium for the next two seasons.
Upon expiration of the previous contract, on January 1, 2007, the name was changed again to to reflect the sponsorship of Goodwill Group, Inc. The naming rights contract with Goodwill was intended to remain in effect for five years.
Although Seibu Dome was still the official name of the stadium, the stadium and media used the sponsored name almost exclusively during this period. However, at the end of 2007, Goodwill's naming rights for both the stadium and team were seized due to Goodwill's illegal business movements. The dome's name was restored to Seibu Dome in 2008. On January 16, 2017,
MetLife
MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produ ...
, a
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
-based financial institution, purchased naming rights for five years. On March 1, 2022, Belluna, a mail order company out of
Ageo City, Saitama Prefecture, bought the naming rights to the stadium after MetLife's naming right deal expired.
The stadium is located in front of
Seibukyūjō-mae Station, the terminal station of the Seibu Sayama Line railway (a branch of the
Seibu Ikebukuro Line
The is a railway line of the Japanese private railway operator Seibu Railway. It originates at Ikebukuro Station, a large railway junction in north-western Tokyo, extending to northwest suburbs as far as Tokorozawa, Saitama, and nominally term ...
connecting Tokorozawa with
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
) and the
Seibu Yamaguchi Line people mover
A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small-scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks ...
. Both lines are operated by
Seibu Railway
is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, with principal business areas in railways, tourism, and real estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwest Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbrevi ...
, the owner of the stadium and the Lions.
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
performed at the stadium for their last show of the
Hot Space Tour
The Hot Space Tour was the ninth headlining concert tour by the British Rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen in support of their 1982 album ''Hot Space''. The tour started on the 9th of April in Gothenburg, Sweden and ended, after sixty-ni ...
in 1982.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
held the finals of the
2014 G1 Climax on August 10, 2014, at the arena.
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
performed two sold-out shows at the stadium for her
Chromatica Ball tour on September 3 & 4, 2022.
See also
*
Lists of stadiums
The following are lists of stadiums throughout the world. Note that horse racing and motorsport venues are not included at some pages, because those are not stadiums but sports venues.
Combined lists
*List of stadiums by capacity
* List of c ...
*
List of stadiums in Japan
References
External links
MetLife Dome at Seibu Lions Official Site
{{Authority control
Covered stadiums in Japan
Nippon Professional Baseball venues
MetLife
Seibu Lions
Saitama Seibu Lions
Buildings and structures in Tokorozawa, Saitama
Sports venues in Saitama Prefecture
Sports venues completed in 1979
1979 establishments in Japan