Ajax Amsterdam - Amsterdam Arena - East Side Stand - August 2007

by Legendary Football Grounds

Title

Ajax Amsterdam - Amsterdam Arena - East Side Stand - August 2007

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Legendary Football Grounds

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Photograph

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DeMeer Stadion was the primary home of AFC Ajax from 1934 until the final match at the ground on April 26th, 1996. The ground had a fantastic atmosphere and capacity peaked at 29,500 but was reduced to 19,000 by the time of its closure. Even when capacity was at its peak the ground was too small for "big" matches and the club used the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium for a number of matches until 1996. The photos in our collection were taken prior to the final match at the ground and are a unique record of the day Ajax and their supporters said goodbye to the ground.

Amsterdam Olympic Stadion was completed in time for the 1928 Olympic Games with a capacity of 31,600 spectators surrounding a banked cycling track, a running track and the athletic field. The stadium included the Marathon Tower that housed the Olympic Flame along with loudspeakers setup to broadcast event results. During the 1930's the stadium was expanded to 64,000 spectators. The stadium was under threat of demolition but was designated a National Monument and renovated to reduce capacity and return the ground close to its original layout.

Ajax began playing matches at the Olympic Stadium in 1928 and continued to play matches there after the construction of DeMeer Stadion in 1934 as the capacity of their new ground was too low for "big" matches. The situation continued until 1996 when Ajax moved to their new ground at Amsterdam Arena leaving both DeMeer and Olympic behind.

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October 27th, 2016

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