for their sponsor the Akita Sports Plus,is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

stadium in Akita,

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...

, Japan. The stadium has a capacity of 4,992 and has been the home ground of

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan. The third-tier nationwide league is a relatively recent development in Japanese football with a first attempt ...

club

Blaublitz Akita is a Japanese professional association football team based in Akita, Akita Prefecture. In 2014 they entered the J3 League after previously playing in the Japan Football League, the third tier of the Japanese association football league system. ...

since 2013. It was formerly known as Akita Yabase Playing Field. Since September 2014 it had been called Akigin Stadium for the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

by Akita Bank.

History

The stadium was first opened in August 1953 and a roof was constructed over the main stand in September 1961. Lighting was installed in July 1978 and upgraded in September 2001. Underdrainage was installed in June 1982. The ground was converted to natural grass in November 2001. In March 2002 the end stand was renovated and a new stand opposite the main stand was constructed. Renovation of the main stand was completed in July 2004, increasing the capacity to 4,992 (including 15 wheelchair spaces). In 2007 the stadium hosted the men's soccer event of the National Sports Festival of Japan.

Facilities

The stadium is equipped with lighting for night matches, an electronic scoreboard and broadcast booth. The main stand also houses conference rooms. The main stand has seating for 1,882 people, including 10 wheelchair spaces. The end and side stands are grassed terraces that have a capacity of 1,300 and 1,800 respectively. A second field known as the No.2 Field was built next to the stadium in October 2005. It has a synthetic turf surface and a capacity of 730 people. It is currently known as the Space Project Dream Field under a 2014 naming rights deal.

Tenants

club

has been the main tenant since 2013. The

Akita Northern Bullets Akita Northern Bullets are a Japanese rugby union team that play in the Top East League. The team is based in Akita, Akita, Japan. In 1958, the Akita City Government created a rugby union team. The new Bullets team was formed in 2004, and alloc ...

of the second-tier are also based at the ground. The stadium also hosts high school and amateur soccer and rugby tournaments each year. The ground is available for use from April until November each year. The conference rooms are available for hire all year round.

Naming rights

In August 2014 the City of Akita leased the naming rights to the stadium to Akita Bank for a period of two years and seven months, from September 2014 until March 2017. The agreement was reported as being worth 3.25 million yen per year. In a separate deal announced at the same time, the naming rights of the No.2 Field was leased to the events company "Space Project" for the same time period at 720,000 yen per year. In February 2023 the City and NPO corporation Akita Sports Plus have signed a 3-year, JPY3.3 million stadium naming-rights deal.

Access

The stadium is accessible via buses operated by the Akita Chuoukotsu Bus company. There is also a car park with 180 bays, including three reserved for wheelchair users.

Gallery

File:Akita Football Stadium 1.JPG, View from the main stand File:Akita Municipal Yabase Football Stadium 20130817-2.jpg, Entrance to the main stand File:Akigin Stadium.jpg, Satellite view File:Yabase Sports Park football ground.jpg, Space Project Dream Field and Health Square File:Space Project Dream Field.jpg, Space Project Dream Field (right) and Health Square File:Yabase Sports Park 1975.jpg, Yabase Sports Park in 1975 File:Akigin Stadium logo.jpg, Former logo

References

External links

* {{List of football stadiums in Asia Football venues in Japan Rugby union stadiums in Japan Blaublitz Akita Saruta Kogyo SC Sports venues in Akita (city) Sports venues completed in 1953 1953 establishments in Japan