The Suphachalasai Stadium () is a sports stadium in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, Thailand, part of the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

complex.

History

The stadium construction started in 1937 in the original area of Thai Windsor Palace that demolished in 1935. The Department of Physical Education entered into a 29-year lease agreement with

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...

. First use of the stadium happened when King

Ananda Mahidol Ananda Mahidol (20 September 19259 June 1946) was the eighth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly of Thailand, National ...

presided over in the opening ceremony of 1938 men's athletics competition, which changed the venue from

Sanam Luang Sanam Luang (, ; ), officially Thong Sanam Luang (), is a open field and public square in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand. Sanam Luang is in the Phra Nakhon District, the historic center of Bangkok. In the ''Roy ...

. The stadium is named after Luang Suphachalasai (Bung Suphachalasai), considered the Father of Thai Sport and the first Director-General of Thai Department of Physical Education. It is used mostly for staging

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches. It served as the main stadium for the

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, and

1978 Asian Games The 8th Asian Games (), also known as Bangkok 1978 (), were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, ...

. It was also used for the

2007 AFC Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its h ...

, but only for one game (Oman v Iraq in Group A). The stadium is easy for spectators to get to as it is served by the BTS Skytrain which stops at the adjacent ' National Stadium BTS station'. The stadium is a single tier construction which is uncovered on three sides. A plain but effective roof covers the main-stand side. Although there is a running track, the tribunes are immediately adjacent to it so spectators are not as far from the action as they are at the newer

Rajamangala Stadium The Rajamangala National Stadium (; , ) is the national stadium of Thailand national football team. It is part of the Hua Mak Sports Complex, and is located in Hua Mak Subdistrict, Bang Kapi, Bangkok. Its official opening on 6 December 1998 co ...

. Spectator comfort was increased in 2007 with the addition of red bench seats to the previously bare concrete steps on the three open sides. Thai league clubs often play at the Suphachalasai in Asian competitions as their own stadiums do not meet

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

criteria. However, it is now rarely used by the national team who usually play at the

Rajamangala National Stadium The Rajamangala National Stadium (; , ) is the national stadium of Thailand national football team. It is part of the Hua Mak Sports Complex, and is located in Hua Mak Subdistrict, Bang Kapi, Bangkok. Its official opening on 6 December 1998 co ...

. Other stadiums in Bangkok include the

Thai Army Sports Stadium The Royal Thai Army Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in the Phaya Thai of north Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 20,000 and has a single stand with covered sea ...

, the

Thai-Japanese Stadium The Thai-Japanese Stadium (Japanese language, Japanese: タイ・ジャパニーズ・スタジアム; ), also called Thai-Japanese Bangkok Youth Center (, is a multi-purpose stadium in Din Daeng, Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly ...

and

Chulalongkorn University Stadium The Chulalongkorn University Stadium, formerly Charusathian Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium owned by Chulalongkorn University in Pathumwan, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Chulalongkorn Soi 9 in Pathumwan in the centre of Bangkok and holds 20,00 ...

Events

On 24 and 27 August 1993,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

performed two concerts there during his

Dangerous World Tour The ''Dangerous'' World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson and was staged to promote his eighth studio album '' Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various chari ...

in front of 140,000 in attendance. On 7 and 8 January 2023,

Blackpink Blackpink (, stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The group is composed of four members: Jisoo, Jennie (singer), Jennie, Rosé (singer), Rosé, and Lisa (rapper), Lisa. Regarded by ...

performed two concerts there during their

Born Pink World Tour The Born Pink World Tour was the second worldwide concert tour and the third overall by South Korean girl group Blackpink in support of their second studio album ''Born Pink'' (2022). The tour began on October 15, 2022, in Seoul, South Korea, a ...

in front of 66,211 in attendance. On 14 December 2024,

Stray Kids Stray Kids (often abbreviated to SKZ; ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The band consists of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han (musician), Han, Felix (rapper), Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. For un ...

performed one concerts there during their

Dominate World Tour The Dominate World Tour (stylized as Stray Kids World Tour ) is the ongoing third world tour and fourth overall concert tour by South Korean boy band Stray Kids in support of their ninth Korean-language extended play ''Ate'', second Japanese-lan ...

in front of 20,000 in attendance.

References

{{Coord, 13, 44, 44, N, 100, 31, 32, E, type:landmark_region:TH, display=title Sports venues in Bangkok Football venues in Thailand Athletics (track and field) venues in Thailand Rugby union stadiums in Asia Multi-purpose stadiums in Thailand Sports venues completed in 1935 Pathum Wan district 1935 establishments in Siam category:Chitsen Aphaiwong buildings and structures