The Yud-Alef Stadium (Hebrew: אצטדיון הי"א, Etztadion HaYudAlef, lit. The 11 Stadium) is a football stadium in Ashdod, Israel, that was built for local football sides Ironi Ashdod and Hapoel Ashdod. It was named the Yud-Alef after the eleven Israeli athletes murdered in the Munich massacre (Yud-Alef is used in Hebrew numerals used to represent the number 11). There are four stands in the stadium which is not aesthetically pleasing. The stadium is also thought to be one of the few in the world where the home fans have fewer seats than the visitors. There are a total of 4,000 seats in gates three and four (set aside for visiting supporters). Gates one and two together hold only 3,420 giving the local side a disadvantage when a bigger club comes to town.
In a recent article in Yedioth Ahronoth, it was found that the stadium was not built properly and is not safe. The only parts that were deemed safe were the locker rooms and showers.
On 29 August 2006 the fences surrounding the pitch were removed to make for better sightliness for visitors to the stadium.
Famous quotes containing the word stadium:
“It’s no accident that of all the monuments left of the Greco- Roman culture the biggest is the ballpark, the Colosseum, the Yankee Stadium of ancient times.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)