Saitama Stadium 2002


Saitama Stadium 2002, often called Saitama Stadium or simply Saisuta, is a football stadium located in Midori-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Currently J1 League football club Urawa Red Diamonds use this stadium for home games. It is one of the largest football specific stadiums in Asia. It is one of the planned football venues for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Location

The stadium is a 15 to 20 minute walk from Urawa-Misono Station on the Saitama Railway Line.

History

Built by Azusa Sekkei to host matches of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, construction was completed in September 2001. The stadium holds 63,700 people, although for segregation reasons league games hosted at the ground have a reduced capacity of 62,300. The Saitama Stadium hosted four matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, including co-host Japan's first match against Belgium.
Between 2005 and 2007, the Urawa Red Diamonds' local derby rival Omiya Ardija hosted matches here along with Urawa Komaba due to expansion of its home Ōmiya Park Soccer Stadium.

2002 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:
DateTeam 1ResultTeam 2Round
2 June 20021–1Group F
4 June 20022–2Group H
6 June 20021–0Group E
26 June 20021–0Semi-finals

Features