Yuexiushan Stadium
 Yuexiushan Stadium in 2017 | |
 | |
| Location | Guangzhou, China |
|---|---|
| Owner | Guangzhou Sports Bureau |
| Capacity | 18,000 (max) 15,000 (football) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 1950 |
| Tenants | |
| Guangzhou R&F (2011-present) Guangzhou Evergrande (1993–1997, 2001–2010) | |
Yuexiushan Stadium (Chinese: 越秀山体育场) is a multi-purpose stadium in Guangzhou, China, named for its location at the foot of Yuexiu Hill. It is currently mostly used for football matches.
The stadium was built in 1950 with a capacity of 35,000 people.[1] However, following renovation and the installation of fixed seating in 2012, the capacity is now 18,000.[2] It serves as the home stadium for Guangzhou R&F of the Chinese Super League.
The stadium is best reached by taking Guangzhou Metro Line 2 to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall Station.
History
Yuexiushan Stadium (often shortened to Yuexiushan) was built in 1950 as both a sports stadium and arena for civic celebrations. As the home stadium of first the Guangzhou city side and later the Guangdong provincial side, Yuexiushan hosted a large number of friendly matches with international opposition in the late 1950s and early 1960s including against Algeria, Sweden and Soviet champions Spartak Moscow.[3] These games would come to be known as 'foreign battles' and would see both Cuba and Albania play at Yuexiushan in the early 1970s and, after the end of Cultural Revolution, visiting sides included the West German Olympic Team.[4]
Yuexiushan was also the venue for Guangzhou's National Day celebrations, although an event to mark the 40th anniversary of the Russian October Revolution ended in disaster when 33 people were killed in a crush.[3]
Yuexiushan hosted the inaugural Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup match in early 1979, which Guangdong won 1-0.
By the late 1980s Yuexiushan was no longer the premier ground in Guangzhou with the opening of the new Tianhe stadium. However, Guangzhou continued to play their regular fixtures at Yuexiushan and finished second in the National Championship in 1992 and 1994, helped by an unbeaten record of 21 games at Yuexiushan.[5]
Yuexiushan has undergone multiple renovations since the late 1990s which have seen player facilities in the entrance tower at the city end of the ground improved and a roof, electronic scoreboard and fixed plastic seating installed for spectators. Fans sitting at the Yuexiu Park end of the ground are still exposed to the elements though.[5]
Following their promotion to the Chinese Super League (CSL), original tenants Guangzhou Evergrande (the successors to the Guangzhou side founded in 1954) moved out of Yuexiushan and across town to Tianhe Stadium for the 2011 season.[6] Guangzhou R&F played their first home game at Yuexiushan in the summer of 2011 and were promoted to the CSL at the end of the season. Following R&F's third place finish in 2014, Yuexiushan hosted four Asian Champions League games under floodlights in 2015.[5]
Yuexiushan was renovated over the winter of 2016/17. The pitch was relayed, VIP facilities improved and the whole stadium painted blue (the colour of tenants Guangzhou R&F).[7] The first match at the refurbished stadium was held on 28th April 2017 when R&F were defeated 1-3 by Guizhou Hengfeng in the CSL.[8]
Notable events
- May 1978: Yuexiushan hosts Guangdong v West Brom friendly match[9]
- December 25, 2010: 3rd Asia Tour: Super Show 3 - The Boy band South Korean Super Junior held a concert to a sold-out crowd of 30,000 people at the stadium.
- March 17, 2012: Yuexiushan hosts the first Canton Derby as Guangzhou R&F beat reigning league champions and former Yuexiushan tenants Guangzhou Evergrande 2-0.[10]
- Spring 2015: Yuexiushan hosts Asian Champions League football as Guangzhou R&F play in the group stages. R&F came through two qualifying rounds after finishing third in the Chinese Super League in 2014.[11]
See also
References
- ^ www.fussballtempel.net
- ^ "Guangzhou R&F 2013 Season Review: Work in progress : Wild East Football". wildeastfootball.net. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ^ a b "Yuexiushan: The cradle of Cantonese football, part one". Wild East Football. 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
- ^ 品拓互联-www.dotodo.net. "越秀山情结--65年回首英雄地，为什么这里是南粤足球的圣地？-越秀山情怀故事". www.gzrffc.com.cn. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
- ^ a b c "Yuexiushan: The cradle of Cantonese football, part two". Wild East Football. 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
- ^ "Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Club History". http://www.gzevergrandefc.com/. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ 品拓互联-www.dotodo.net. "富力TV | 越秀山回归倒计时，精彩揭秘抢先看-富力TV报道". www.gzrffc.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
- ^ 品拓互联-www.dotodo.net. "遭遇赛季首败，回归越秀山我们重新出发-赛事新闻". www.gzrffc.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
- ^ "A trumpet-playing panda and half-time ice cream: West Brom's 1978 tour of China - Wild East Football". wildeastfootball.net. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
- ^ "Guangzhou Fuli 2 – 0 Guangzhou Evergrande: Canton Derby Shock : Wild East Football". wildeastfootball.net. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ^ "Yuexiushan News: Asia here we come! : Wild East Football". wildeastfootball.net. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
External links
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23°08′21″N 113°15′39″E / 23.139216°N 113.260739°E
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