There’s nothing quite like soccer to unite people and no matter what country you travel to, the country will have at least one absolutely marvellous soccer stadium. Some stadiums are akin to major landmarks. They make terrific tourist attractions and you can’t visit that particular part of the world without calling in to see them. Below is a look at some of the world’s best soccer stadiums and what makes them so brilliant.
San Siro
San Siro, or the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, is the home of Italian soccer giants Inter Milan and AC Milan, teams either of which you may fancy to win Serie A this season.
Somewhat sadly, and yet at the same time somewhat excitingly, the stadium is to be demolished after the 2026 Winter Olympics. The two clubs have agreed to this in favour of a new stadium, which will cost more than a billion dollars to build, on the same site.
This new stadium will be called “The Cathedral” and will seat at least 60,000 people. That’s less than the San Siro, which accommodates 80,000.
Santiago Bernabéu
The Santiago Bernabéu, or San Bernabéu for short, is the home of the Spanish La Liga heavyweights Real Madrid. The stadium, which opened in 1947, is named after the club’s legendary president and boasts dimensions of 105 meters by 68. It’s as massive as the club itself and hosts a capacity of 81,044.
San Bernabéu has witnessed some magical moments. Of note are Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat trick versus derby rivals Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-final and a dramatic 92nd minute late winner from Sergio Ramos against Deportivo La Coruña in league competition.
El Camp Nou
Of course, Real Madrid isn’t the only big club in Spain and anyone travelling around the country should also make a beeline for FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium. The Camp Nou opened in 1957 and replaced the team’s previous ground of Les Corts, which, hosting a capacity of 48,000, had become too small to cope with all the interest the club was generating.
The stadium cost 228 million pesetas to build and placed the club heavily in debt. All that money did help the architects and construction company build a stadium that hosts a 99,354 people and is Europe’s biggest sports venue. Camp Nou boasts a maximum height of 48m and covers a surface area of 55,000 sq/m (250 long by 220 wide). In line with FIFA regulations, the club has reduced the playing area to 105 x 68m.
Football betting odds currently have the team as 2/1 favourites to win the division, just another reason to visit this magnificent stadium.
Wembley
Wembley Stadium, in London, is the home of English football and the stadium’s eye-catching 133m tall arch makes Wembley visible right across the city. The stadium seats 90,000, making it the biggest sports venue in the UK, and it’s the second largest in Europe (the largest being FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou).
Wembley has been a part of some major events, soccer and otherwise, including the 1966 World Cup final, Euro ’96, the 1948 Summer Olympics and the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The new Wembley Stadium cost £798 million (around 983 million US dollars) and has a circumference of a kilometre.
On a match day, a grounds employee will cover as much as 26 miles on average. This includes preparing the pitch, marking out, walking the pitch and post-match recovery.
Signal Iduna Park
The Signal Iduna Park, on Strobelallee, is the home of Borussia Dortmund and is Germany’s largest soccer stadium. Thirty years ago, this stadium, which hosts more than 81,000 people, features undersoil heating, has a glass façade and boasts the largest stand in Europe would have been considered fanciful by Dortmund’s citizens. Now they have a soccer stadium of which they’re truly proud. Fans call it “the temple.”
The stadium came about when Cologne decided not to build a stadium. This paved the way for Dortmund to apply as a host city for the 1974 World Cup, which also created scope to construct a new stadium. State and federal funding made the project happen.
Despite the German FA’s successful bid to host the 1974 World Cup, the plans for construction of the Dortmund stadium in a conventional design experienced some nail-biting moments. In a bid to cut costs, the council had considered expanding the existing “Rote Erde” arena. Fortunately for Dortmund, the Iduna Park plans prevailed.
Soccer stadiums are well worth going to visit when you travel. Imagine setting foot in these vast buildings, the roar of the crowd in your mind as you look onto the pitch. It might even persuade you to catch a game live during your stay or, if you return, the next time you visit that particular part of the world.