History
Azadi Sport Complex was constructed for the 7th Asian Games in 1974 with international criteria. Its land measurement is 450 Hectares and it is located in West Tehran. This sports complex not only has the ability to put in effect different local sport fields, but also is a proper place to have celebrations, meetings, different ceremonies of governmental and ordinary organizations, and sporting camps.
Though a simple bowl concrete structure, the stadium is a breathtaking site. Situated west of the capital, an arching, slightly raised outer shell appears to give way as sweeping stands sink down to pitch side, as if the ground collapsed during building. The stadium was the focus point in 1977 of the Tehran bid for the 1984 Olympic Games, in which it would have only required slight moderations to become the main Olympic Stadium, if Tehran had won the 1984 bid. Eventually political issues saw Tehran drop its bid for 1984, leaving the eventual host, Los Angeles, the only city left bidding.
In 2002, the lower level of the stadium had seats installed, the pitch was replanted along with the installation of an underground heating system. Stadium management also plans to later install seats in the upper level of the stadium. The renovations were completed in 2003, reducing the capacity of the stadium to 90,000 (from 100,000) as the lower level of the stadium was refurnished with 35,000 seats. Despite its reduced capacity, Azadi Stadium has been filled over capacity at times such as the Iran-Japan World Cup 2006 qualification match in March 2005 which resulted in the deaths of seven people. In 2004 a large jumbotron television was added, replacing the original scoreboard. This giant screen with a total area of about 300 square meters and screen area of 104 square meters (20m by 7.5m) is one of the biggest in the world.
The stadium was originally called Aryamehr Stadium but then changed to Azadi Stadium after the Iranian Revolution; "Azadi" means freedom in Persian.
With an official capacity of 90,000, on the big occasions the crowd swells well beyond that. The design of the stadium amplifies the noise across the pitch. The famous 2006 film, "Offside", starring Sima Mobarak Shahi and Ida Sadeghi, about girls trying to get in the stadium to watch a football match, was filmed there.
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