Philips Stadion

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Philips Stadion
nickname =

UEFA | location = Frederiklaan 10, Postbus 886, 5600 AW Eindhoven, Netherlands
broke_ground =
opened = 1913
closed = N/A
demolished = N/A
owner = PSV Eindhoven
operator = PSV Eindhoven
surface = Grass
construction_cost = unknown
architect = Toon van Aken (designer of the quadrants)
former_names = Philips sportpark
tenants = PSV Eindhoven (Eredivisie)
KNVB (Dutch FA)
seating_capacity = 35,119

Philips Stadion is the 35,000 seater stadium of football club, PSV Eindhoven. It was first inaugurated on 31 August 1913. The stadium is located in the Philipsdorp ('Philips village') part of the Eindhoven borough of Strijp, close to Eindhoven's city centre.

As late as 1933, its capacity was only 300, and remained that size until its expansion in 1941 to 18,000 spectators.

The final days of World War II 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. Further expansions of the North stand (1995) and the four quadrants (in 2000 and 2002) of the stadium led to its current capacity. The stadium can accommodate 35,119 people on match days. Plans to further expand the ground to 45,000 seats are being examined. The average attendance for the season 2007/08 was 33,600.

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 in between matches.

The stadium is sometimes used for matches of the Dutch national football team, the first one being on November 17, 1971: a qualifying match for the 1972 UEFA European Championship against Luxembourg (8-0). The stadium's official record attendance is 34,700, set on 23 October 2005 for the Eredivisie match between PSV Eindhoven and AFC Ajax.Fact|date=July 2008

While not a large stadium by European standards, Philips Stadion was also one of the four Dutch venues during the Euro 2000 tournament co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, and is rated a four-star stadium by UEFA, which means that it can be used as the venue of a UEFA Cup final. UEFA indeed chose to bring the UEFA Cup final to the facility in 2006 where Sevilla FC beat Middlesbrough F.C. 4-0.

In the summer of 2005, the board of the club decided to remove the tall fences around the pitch, replacing them with 35 inches (90 cm) high railings keeping the spectators off the grass. Unauthorized persons who do invade the pitch will receive a 15,000 euro penalty and a ten-year-ban from visiting the Philips Stadion.

Average Attendances

(Eredivisie):

* 2003-04: 32,852
* 2004-05: 31,688
* 2005-06: 33,164
* 2006-07: 33,650
* 2007-08: 33,512

Trivia

* One specific seat in the stadium — Section D, Row 22, Seat 43 — is kept permanently empty. This was the seat occupied by former Philips chairman 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 administration chose to keep his seat empty as a tribute.In effect the Philps Stadium was "his house". The first ever kick off at the stadium was done by him, at 8 years old.

External links

* [http://www.pbase.com/tvw/image/71287084/original Philips Stadium photo by Tvw]