King Baudouin Stadium

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Koning Boudewijnstadion
Stade Roi Baudouin
nickname =


location = Brussels, Belgium
coordinates =
broke_ground =
opened = 23 August, 1930
renovated = 1995 (37 million euros)
expanded =
closed =
demolished =
owner =
operator =
surface = Grass
Constructor =
construction_cost =
architect =
former_names = "Stade du Jubilé" or "Jubelstadion" (1930–1946)
"Heizelstadion" or "Stade du Heysel" (1946–1985)
nicknames =
tenants =
Belgium national football team
Belgium national rugby union team
Royal Excelsior Sports Club de Bruxelles (Athletics)
seating_capacity =
50,122
dimensions =
106 x 66m:"See also Heysel Stadium disaster"

The King Baudouin Stadium (French: "Stade Roi Baudouin", Dutch: "Koning Boudewijnstadion") is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. It was inaugurated on August 23, 1930 (days after Belgium's 100th anniversary) as the "Stade du Jubilé" or "Jubelstadion" (Jubilee Stadium) in the presence of Prince Leopold. It was built to embellish the Heysel plateau in view of the Brussels International Exposition (1935). The stadium hosted 70,000 at the time. A wooden track for cycling races was later added around the pitch.

After World War II the stadium was progressively called Heysel Stadium. It hosted European Cup finals in 1958, 1966, 1974, and 1985 and Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1964, 1976, and 1980. The highest attendance at a European game was over 66,000 in 1958. Following the Heysel Stadium disaster of May 29 1985, the ground was only used for athletics and it still hosts the Memorial Van Damme every year.

A decade after the disaster the ground was rebuilt and renamed at a cost of BEF 1,500 million (around $50 million in 1995). As the "Koning Boudewijnstadion/ Stade Roi Baudouin" (named after King Baudouin I) it combined the football ground with a running track and facilities for field events. It was re-opened on August 23, 1995 as the stadium for the national team and is the largest stadium in Belgium; it can seat 50,024 spectators. It hosted the opening game for Euro 2000.

On May 26, 2006 the Belgian Football Association decided not to use King Baudouin Stadium anymore for the national team home matches and for the Cup final, because the gates of stand one were too narrow and the stadium was deemed unsafe. The next match of the national team was thus held at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium. Because of this, the city of Brussels issued a complaint that the stadium was safe in contrary to the reports and this complaint was ruled to be correct in court. On October 6 2006, the KBVB/URBSFA met with representatives of the city of Brussels and together they agreed to renew the contract and extend it to June 30, 2008. Since November 15 2006 the Belgian national football team again uses the King Baudouin Stadium.

Heysel Stadium Silver Coin

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the stadium (and the 100th anniversary of Derby's team) the Belgian state released a commemorative coin: the 10 euro 70 years of Heysel Stadium commemorative coin. The obverse depicts an image of a footballer with the stadium in the background. The flags of Belgium and the Netherlands can be seen on top of the stadium as well as the year that the stadium was built.

External links

*fr icon [http://www.footbel.com/fr/supporters/stadions/koning_boudewijn_stadion.html Belgian FA official website] - history
*nl icon [http://www.footbel.com/nl/supporters/stadions/koning_boudewijn_stadion.html Belgian FA official website] - history