Saitama Stadium 2002

埼玉スタジアム2002
Saisuta
Full name	Saitama Stadium 2002
Location	Midori-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Public transit	Saitama Rapid Railway Line at Urawa-Misono
Owner	Saitama Prefecture
Operator	Saitama Prefectural Park Association
Capacity	63,700[1]
Record attendance	63,551 (Japan vs Oman, 3 June 2012)
Field size	105 x 68 m
Surface	Grass
Opened	1 October 2001
Tenants
Urawa Red Diamonds (2001–present) Japan national football team (select matches) Major sporting events hosted 2002 FIFA World Cup 2020 Summer Olympics football AFC Champions League

Saitama Stadium 2002 (埼玉スタジアム2002, Saitama Sutajiamu Nimarumaruni), a.k.a “Saitama Stadium” (埼玉スタジアム, Saitama Sutajiamu) and simply “Saisuta” (埼スタ), is a football stadium located in Midori-ku, Saitama, Japan.

Currently, J1 League club Urawa Red Diamonds use this stadium for home games. It is the largest football-specific stadium in Japan and is one of the largest stadiums in Asia.^[2][3] It has hosted the semi-finals of both the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics.^[4] It is also the home stadium of Japan national football team in almost every FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

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.The stadium was also featured in the remastered version of the anime Captain Tsubasa where in the middle school tournament the stadium was mostly shown as the main stadium.

2002 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:

Date	Team 1	Result	Team 2	Round
2 June 2002	England	1–1	Sweden	Group F
4 June 2002	Japan	2–2	Belgium	Group H
6 June 2002	Cameroon	1–0	Saudi Arabia	Group E
26 June 2002	Brazil	1–0	Turkey	Semi-finals

Features

• Building area: 54,420 m²
• Total floor area: 62,674 m²
• Covered area: 29,000 m²
• Stand inclination: Max. 30 degree angle

Gallery

Stadium exterior

Japan vs Australia in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round.

2020 Summer Olympics

Panorama