Johan Cruijff ArenA

The Johan Cruyff Arena, the largest stadium in the Netherlands, has been the home ground of Ajax and the primary stadium of Amsterdam since it first opened. Construction ran from 1993 to 1996, with a final price tag equivalent to €140 million. Originally called the Amsterdam Arena, it was renamed ahead of the 2018–19 season to honor Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, who passed away in 2016. The stadium has hosted major football events, including the 1998 UEFA Champions League final, the 2013 UEFA Europa League final, and matches during UEFA Euro 2000 (including a semi-final) and UEFA Euro 2020 (three group matches and a round-of-16 game).

It has also been a venue for concerts by international and Dutch artists such as Tina Turner, Coldplay, U2, Take That, Celine Dion, Madonna, Michael Jackson, André Hazes, David Bowie, AC/DC, Justin Timberlake, One Direction, the Rolling Stones, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Armin van Buuren. The annual dance event Sensation was held there until its final edition in 2017. The stadium features a retractable roof and a natural grass surface. Since 2022, its football match capacity is 55,865, up from 54,990.

For concerts, capacity varies: 71,000 with a center-stage setup, 50,000 for end-stage concerts, and 35,000 when the stage is on the east side. It once held UEFA five-star stadium status, later replaced by a new classification system. Amsterdam was among six cities bidding for the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 1986, a new Olympic stadium was designed with a football field and athletics track for the Strandvliet area in Amsterdam Zuidoost.

After Barcelona won the bid in October 1986, those plans were scrapped. In 1987, the Stichting Amsterdam Sportstad was founded, proposing a 55,000-seat all-seated sports stadium. By 1990, a new design combined elements of earlier plans, featuring a football field, athletics track, and a full roof. Ajax needed a larger venue, as their old home, De Meer, was too small for most games; since the late 1960s, they had moved important matches to the Olympisch Stadion, which they had also used for European fixtures and midweek night games since the 1930s.

The design was revised again: the athletics track was removed, capacity reduced to 50,000, and the fixed roof replaced with a retractable one. In 1992, the Amsterdam government approved the plans, including a Transferium for car-to-public-transport transfers. In 1993, the development plan was changed and a building permit issued. The first pile for the deep foundation was placed on 26 November 1993.

Construction, handled by Ballast Nedam and Royal BAM Group, took nearly three years. The roof’s highest point was reached on 24 February 1995, and a fly-over from the public road to parking opened on 13 March 1996. During construction, 180,000 visitors toured the site until it closed on 1 July 1996. The stadium officially opened on 14 August 1996 by Queen Beatrix.

At the opening, the queen dropped a curtain to reveal De Zee (The Sea), the world’s largest painting at 80 meters, with two-dimensional ships representing Eredivisie clubs. Trijntje Oosterhuis sang the hymn "De Zee," composed by John Ewbank. An eight-day, 1,400 km torch relay with 375 runners ended at the stadium; Johan Cruyff was the first runner from De Meer, and Frank Rijkaard the last. After the grass was uncovered and the roof opened, Ajax played a friendly against Milan, losing 0–3.

Tina Turner then opened the stadium with three concerts from her Wildest Dreams Tour, drawing 160,000 people. Construction cost the equivalent of €140 million (in Dutch guilders at the time). The combination of a retractable roof and grass surface caused early issues: turf struggled to grow in the roof’s shade and was replaced 45 times in the first ten years. In September 2015, plans were announced to renovate the stadium’s facade to improve visitor quality and service by widening walkway rings and adding facilities (seat count unchanged).

The exterior would change from a concave to a convex shape, altering its look. Only the east side was completed by 2020, in time for four UEFA Euro 2020 matches. Construction began in June 2017, with the east-side facade finished in April 2018. On 25 April 2017, it was announced the Amsterdam Arena would be renamed the Johan Cruijff Arena in memory of Ajax legend Johan Cruyff. The change was initially set for 25 October 2017, but this was postponed.