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Since opening back in 1937 Stadion Feijenoord has established itself as one of Europe’s premier stadiums with the 51,117 capacity ground hosting a record of 10 finals across various UEFA competitions. Most famously, the 2002 UEFA Cup final which saw Feyenoord defeat German giants Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in their own back yard and France’s victory against Italy after extra time in the Euro 2000 final. Co-financed by billionaire Daniël George van Beuningen, Stadion Feyenoord is said to come about after the club’s president, Leen van Zandvliet, was dissatisfied with contemporary football stadiums in Europe at the time. Citing Arsenal’s Highbury as the antitheses of his beliefs at the time due to it’s support beams, he insisted that Stadion Feijenoord was constructed with “free hanging tiers”. Testament to the president’s vision, Barcelona’s 1957 built Nou Camp featured similar designed stands and in 1991 De Kuip was regarded as one of Rotterdam’s unique historical monuments. The major renovation which occurred three years later giving the ground its current appearance was carried out with consideration the stadium’s heritage. The two most notable features of the work were a conversion to all-seater stand and a roof with complete coverage. Since 2006 Feyenoord working in conjunction with the city of Rotterdam have began formulating plans to improve the ground. Currently it appears as if both parties prefer renovation with speculation rife that building work will begin in the Summer of 2015 resulting in a 70,000 capacity “De Nieuwe Kuip” after three years, with an expected cost of €200 million.

DRIVING The stadium’s address for satnav is as follows: Van Zandvlietplein 1, 3077 AA Rotterdam, Netherlands Car Parks There are a total of 8 on site car parks located within the immediate environs of the stadium which belong to the operators of the De Kuip. With at least half of these reserved for season ticket holders and guests of the club, there’s much less spaces available than you think so get there early! TRAIN Rotterdam Centraal railway station is the main train station of the city and is located within a prime urban location. With the exception of the tram outlined below there isn’t really a suitable overground service to the stadium with Rotterdam Zuid 1.8 km north technically the closest train station. TRAM De Kuip is served by its own tram station known as “Stadion Feyenoord” which sits outside of the stadium to the north. You can catch number 23 during the week and number 29 on matchdays from Rotterdam’s central station. AIRPORTS AND FLYING The nearest international airport is called “Rotterdam The Hague” and it sits less than 11 km north east of Feyenoord’s stadium, and 6 km or so from the centre of Rotterdam. The third largest airport in Netherlands by number of passengers served, upon landing you can catch shuttle bus 33 to the RandstadRail Metro Line E which will take you to the central railway station.