De Meer Stadion

About

De Meer Stadion (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈmeːr ˌstaːdijɔn]) is the former stadium of Dutch record football champions Ajax. It was opened in 1934 as a result of the club's former stadium (Het Houten Stadion) being too small. Upon completion, it could hold 22,000 spectators, but accommodating up to 29,500 at its maximum. At time of the closure in 1996 it could hold 19,500 spectators.

Over time, as Ajax's popularity and success grew, the De Meer proved to be too small. From 1930 onward, Ajax played their big (European) games at the Olympic Stadium. The larger venue also hosted Ajax's midweek night games, since the De Meer Stadion lacked floodlights until the mid-seventies. The Netherlands national football team played five international matches at the stadium, winning all of them. The first match, on 22 August 1973, was a qualifying match for the 1974 FIFA World Cup against Iceland (5-0). The last international match, played on 25 March 1992, was a friendly against Yugoslavia (2-0). Ajax left the De Meer after the opening of the purpose-built Amsterdam Arena in 1996, which since 2018 is called the Johan Cruyff Arena. The final match at De Meer was an Eredivisie game which saw Ajax...