Stadium of Light
football stadium in Sunderland, England
The Stadium of Light is a football stadium in Sunderland, England. It is the current home stadium of Sunderland A.F.C. This stadium was officially inaugurated by the Prince Andrew, Duke of York, on the 30th July, in 1997, during a match between Sunderland A.F.C. and Ajax Amsterdam.
 The Stadium of Light in 2008 | |
 | |
| Location | Stadium Of Light, Sunderland, SR5 1SU |
|---|---|
| Owner | Sunderland A.F.C. |
| Capacity | 49 000 |
| Field size | 115 × 75 yards (105 × 68 metres) |
| Surface | lawn |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1997 |
| Expanded | 2002 |
| Construction cost | £ 23million |
| Architect | TTH Architects |
| Main contractors | Ballast Wiltshire PLC |
| Tenants | |
| Sunderland A.F.C. | |
The Stadium of Light is a all seated stadium and mainly used for the league matches of Sunderland A.F.C. Beside this use there were some matches of national teams.
| Date | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 10 October 1999 |  England 2–1  Belgium |
Friendly |
| 27 November 2002 | England 3–5  Italy |
Under 20 International |
| 2 April 2003 | England 2–0  Turkey |
UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifying |
The Stadium is also used for concerts (for example Oasis, Take That and Pink). Also the graduation ceremony of the University of Sunderland is held in the stadium.
Visitors
change| Season | Average | Highest |
|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 34,334 | 41,214 |
| 1998-99 | 38,724 | 41,634 |
| 1999-2000 | 41,375 | 42,192 |
| 2000-01 | 46,790 | 48,285 |
| 2001-02 | 44,108 | 47,989 |
| 2002-03 | 39,672 | 47,586 |
| 2003-04 | 27,119 | 36,278 |
| 2004-05 | 28,821 | 47,350 |
| 2005-06 | 33,904 | 44,003 |
| 2006-07 | 31,883 | 44,448 |
| 2007-08 | 43,344 | 47,802 |
| 2008-09 | 40,168 | 47,936 |
| 2009-10 | 40,355 | 47,641 |
The record of visitors was in a league match versus Liverpool with 48,353 set 13 April 2002.
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