Johan Cruijff ArenA

Lore & Background

Amsterdam was one of six cities that bid to host the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 1986, a new Olympic stadium was designed, with a football field and an athletics track. It was to be built in the area of Strandvliet in Amsterdam Zuidoost. After Amsterdam lost the bid to Barcelona in October 1986, the plans for the new stadium were abandoned.

In 1987, the Stichting Amsterdam Sportstad was established, which made new plans for a sports stadium with an all-seated capacity of 55,000. In 1990, a new design was made based on both previous designs, with a football field, an athletics track, and completely covered by a roof. Once more, the design was altered – the athletics track was removed, the capacity was reduced to 50,000 seats, and the fixed roof was replaced by a retractable roof. The first pile of the deep foundation was placed on 26 November 1993.

The stadium was officially opened on 14 August 1996 by Queen Beatrix. At the grand opening, the queen made a curtain fall revealing the world's largest painting De Zee. An eight-day torch relay with 375 runners over 1400 km reached the stadium; the first runner was Johan Cruyff starting in the old stadium De Meer, and the last runner was Frank Rijkaard. An inaugural football friendly was played between Ajax and Milan, which Ajax lost 0–3. Tina Turner opened the stadium with three concerts with 160,000 people.

Reader's Guide

The stadium has a retractable roof and a grass surface. Since 2022, the stadium has a capacity of 56,120 during football matches, increased from 54,990. The stadium has a capacity of 71,000 during music concerts if a center-stage setup is used; for end-stage music concerts, the capacity is 50,000; and for music concerts for which the stage is located in the east side of the stadium, the capacity is 35,000. It held UEFA five-star stadium status, which was superseded by a new system of classification. The nearest train and subway (metro) station is Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena. The metro lines 50 and 54 stop here. The Ajax Museum is located in the stadium.

Did You Know?

• The stadium hosted the 1998 UEFA Champions League final, where Real Madrid defeated Juventus 1–0.
• It was one of the venues of UEFA Euro 2000, including 3 group games, a quarter final and a semi-final.
• The stadium also hosted three group stage matches and one match in the round of 16 of the UEFA Euro 2020.
• The 2013 UEFA Europa League final was staged here, with Chelsea defeating Benfica 2–1.
• The dance event Sensation was held in the stadium every year up until the final edition in 2017.