Stadium of Light

football stadium in Sunderland, England

The Stadium of Light is a football stadium in Sunderland, England. It is the current home stadium of Sunderland A.F.C. This stadium was officially inaugurated by the Prince Andrew, Duke of York, on the 30th July, in 1997, during a match between Sunderland A.F.C. and Ajax Amsterdam.

Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light in 2008
Map
LocationStadium Of Light, Sunderland, SR5 1SU
OwnerSunderland A.F.C.
Capacity49 000
Field size115 × 75 yards (105 × 68 metres)
Surfacelawn
Construction
Opened1997
Expanded2002
Construction cost£ 23million
ArchitectTTH Architects
Main contractorsBallast Wiltshire PLC
Tenants
Sunderland A.F.C.

The Stadium of Light is a all seated stadium and mainly used for the league matches of Sunderland A.F.C. Beside this use there were some matches of national teams.

Date Result Competition
10 October 1999  England 2–1  Belgium Friendly
27 November 2002  England 3–5  Italy Under 20 International
2 April 2003  England 2–0  Turkey UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifying

The Stadium is also used for concerts (for example Oasis, Take That and Pink). Also the graduation ceremony of the University of Sunderland is held in the stadium.

Visitors

change
Season Average Highest
1997-98 34,334 41,214
1998-99 38,724 41,634
1999-2000 41,375 42,192
2000-01 46,790 48,285
2001-02 44,108 47,989
2002-03 39,672 47,586
2003-04 27,119 36,278
2004-05 28,821 47,350
2005-06 33,904 44,003
2006-07 31,883 44,448
2007-08 43,344 47,802
2008-09 40,168 47,936
2009-10 40,355 47,641

The record of visitors was in a league match versus Liverpool with 48,353 set 13 April 2002.