Netherlands
Philips Stadion
The Philips Stadion is the 35 000 seater stadium of former European
champions PSV Eindhoven. The club is one of the traditional Dutch football giants, together with AFC Ajax and Feyenoord. The stadium was first inaugurated in August 1913 and is located in the Philipsdorp, close to Eindhoven's city centre. Its was limited, until the expansion in 1941 to 18 000
spectators. The final days of the Second World War witnessed great
destruction in the city of Eindhoven and also to the stadium itself. Repairs
were duly made, culminating in the expansion of the stadium to 22 000
capacity in 1958. To allow for enough airflow over the pitch, the seats in
the four quadrants are placed in a ventilating position when no match is
being played. This contributes to a better quality of the grass. Another
measure is the use of grow lights. The Philips Stadion
was one of the four Dutch venues during UEFA Euro 2000, co-hosted
by Belgium and the Netherlands, and is rated a four-star stadium.
The European football confederation chose to bring the UEFA Cup final to the stadium in 2006 where Sevilla
FC beat Middlesbrough FC 4-0. PSV Eindhoven and the Dutch national football team usually play for capacity crowds when they play at the Philips Stadion. One specific seat in the stadium is kept
permanently empty. This was the seat occupied by former Philips chairman
and PSV Eindhoven fan Frits Philips during the latter part of his life, as he chose not to use any
of the stadium's hospitality facilities and instead took his place in the
general crowd. After his death at the age of 100 in 2005, the PSV Eindhoven
administration chose to keep his seat empty as a tribute.
