Sammy Ofer Stadium

Sammy Ofer Stadium

Full name Sammy Ofer Stadium
Location Haifa, Israel
Owner City of Haifa
Operator City of Haifa
Capacity 30,870
Field size 22.000 Sq m
Surface Grass
Construction
Broke ground 2009
Opened 27 August 2014[1]
Construction cost ₪530 million
Tenants
Maccabi Haifa (2014 - present)
Hapoel Haifa (2014 - present)
Israel national football team

The Sammy Ofer Stadium, also known as Haifa International Stadium, is a 30,870-seat multi-purpose stadium in Haifa, Israel.[2] Construction began in late 2009 and was completed in 2014. The stadium was developed and built by the Haifa Economic Corporation, managed by Adv. Gal Peleg. Currently, the stadium is used mostly for football matches, hosting the home games of Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Haifa F.C. The stadium replaced Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, which was closed in 2014 and demolished in 2015. The stadium is named after the late Israeli naval-mogul Sammy Ofer, who donated $20,000,000 to build the stadium. Ofer's contribution was 19% of the total cost of the stadium.

History

On September 16, 2008, the Haifa Construction Committee approved the stadium's plans and gave it the green light.

On August 2009, official plans of the stadium released.

On September 2009, it has been announced that the works on building the foundations of the stadium would begin at the end of September 2009. The first official match ever at Sammy Ofer Stadium was played on August 27, 2014. Hapoel Haifa hosted Hapoel Acre (TOTO CUP) and won 2–0. The first historic goal in the new stadium was scored by Hapoel Haifa striker Tosaint Ricketts. The first league match was played on September 15, 2014. Maccabi Haifa hosted Bnei Sakhnin F.C., who they defeated by a score of 4–2. The historic first goal by a Maccabi Haifa player was scored by Israeli national team midfielder Hen Ezra during stoppage time of the first half. Over 31,000 supporters were in attendance.[3] The first UEFA Champions League match was played on September 30, 2015 by Maccabi Tel Aviv against Dinamo Kiev,[4] Dinamo won 2–0 by goles Andriy Yarmolenko and Júnior Moraes .

The first match of the Israel national football team was played on November 16, 2014. Israel hosted the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match and won the match by a score of 3–0. The stadium was sold out, which resulted in an atmosphere beyond compare, helping Israel win their 3rd game in a row in the tournament.[5]

Sammy Ofer Stadium

International matches

Date Result Competition Attendance
16 November 2014  Israel 3–0  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2016 Euro qualifying group stage 31,000
28 March 2015  Israel 0–3  Wales 2016 Euro qualifying group stage 31,000
3 September 2015  Israel 4–0  Andorra 2016 Euro qualifying group stage 22,000
29 September 2015 Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–2 Dynamo Kyiv UEFA Champions League group stage 27,100
4 November 2015 Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–3 FC Porto UEFA Champions League group stage 26,646
24 November 2015 Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–4 Chelsea UEFA Champions League group stage
5 September 2016  Israel 1–3  Italy 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification 30,000

Gates

Area Entrance Gate Capacity
Silver Stand – Southern section A 301–304 1,686
Silver Stand – Northern section B 309–312 1,686
Silver Stand (Press Box) A,B 305–308 216
Gold Club VIP 401–403, 408–410 972
Diamond Club VIP 404–407 285
Sky Boxes VIP 501–536 386
North Stand (Lower) C,D 101–109 4,132
North Stand (Upper) C,D 201–212 3,857
East stand – Northern Section(Lower) E 110–113 1,531
East Stand – Northern Section(Upper) E 213–217 1,375
East Stand – Central Section (Lower) F 114–118 2,205
East Stand – Central Section (Upper) F 218–222 1,570
East Stand – Southern Section (Lower) G 119–122 1,531
East Stand – Southern Section (Upper) G 223–227 1,375
South Stand (Lower) H,J 123–128 2,799
South Stand (Upper) H,J 228–234 2,291
South Stand – Western Section (Lower) K 129–132 1,329
South Stand – Western Section (Upper) K 235–240 1,563
Total 30,789

References

  1. ↑ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/asia/israel/sammy-ofer-stadium/
  2. ↑ www.kssgroup.com
  3. ↑ http://maccabi-haifafc.walla.co.il/?w=/3036/2785849
  4. ↑ http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2016/matches/round=2000634/match=2015685/postmatch/report/index.html
  5. ↑ http://int.soccerway.com/matches/2014/11/16/europe/european-championship-qualification/israel/bosnia-herzegovina/1653243/?ICID=PL_MS_24
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Coordinates: 32°46′59.2″N 34°57′54.6″E / 32.783111°N 34.965167°E / 32.783111; 34.965167

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