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The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England and home to Sunderland A.F.C.. With space for 49,000 spectators,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=About the Stadium of Light )〕 the Stadium of Light has the sixth-largest capacity of any English football stadium and the fifth-largest Premier League stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. home matches. According to Sir Bob Murray then chairman of Sunderland F.C. the name ''Stadium of Light'' "was chosen for 2 main reasons; namely as an ever-lasting tribute to the region’s mine-workers and proud industrial heritage and in the expectation that the stadium would be a guiding light in the future. The name is very much a symbolic link to the thousands of miners and Sunderland supporters that emerged from the darkness and into the light every day when they returned to the surface after working in the mine." A Davy lamp monument stands at the entrance to reflect the coal mining industry that brought prosperity to the town. As well as hosting Sunderland games, the stadium has hosted two matches for the England national football team, as well as one England under-20 football team match. With an original capacity of 42,000, it was expanded in 2002 to seat 49,000, and its simple design is expected to allow for redevelopments up to an eventual capacity of 66,000. The attendance record at the Stadium of Light is 48,353 set on 13 April 2002, when Sunderland played Liverpool with the visitors running out 1–0 winners. Along with hosting football matches, the stadium has played host to performers such as Rihanna, Oasis, Take That, Kings of Leon and Coldplay. The ground also holds conference and banqueting suites, the ''Black Cats Bar'', and a club shop selling Sunderland merchandise. ==Planning and construction== Following the release of the Taylor Report in January 1990, Sunderland was obliged to make plans to turn their Roker Park home into an all-seater stadium.〔Days, pp297-298.〕 Roker Park was a ground that mainly consisted of standing terraces, and if converted into all-seater it would have held far fewer spectators than before.〔 Enclosed by residential streets on all sides, expansion was practically impossible. So, by 1991, Sunderland chairman Bob Murray began investigating the possibility of relocation to a new stadium.〔 The front-runner that emerged was a proposed stadium located on an area of land adjacent to the Nissan car plant.〔Days, pp299-300〕 The 49,000 all-seater ground was labelled "the Wembley of the North" – a capacity that not even Manchester United's Old Trafford exceeded until 1996.〔 The plans did not come to fruition. Shortly after the plans were announced in 1992, Nissan launched an official objection, ultimately forcing Sunderland to abandon the idea.〔 In 1995, Sunderland put forward a plan to build a stadium on the former site of Wearmouth Colliery, which had closed in December 1993.〔 The area, on the north bank of the River Wear in the Sheepfolds district of Sunderland, was only a few hundred yards from Roker Park, and close to the centre of the city. In 1993, Sunderland's planned new stadium was on the shortlist for Euro 96 venues, as England had been named as hosts of the competition in May 1992. However, it soon become clear that a new stadium in Sunderland would not be ready in time for the tournament. On 13 November 1995, the Sunderland chairman Bob Murray announced that the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation had approved plans for Sunderland to build a 34,000-seater stadium on the site.〔Days, p301〕 Ballast Wiltshier plc, a contracting company that had built the Amsterdam Arena, was contracted to build the stadium at an initial cost of £15 million.〔 In June 1996, as the planned capacity rose to more than 40,000, construction work began.〔 The capacity was revised again in early 1997, and the stadium was completed on time, with a capacity of 42,000.〔 The stadium's design allows possible expansion of a further tier; completed expansion of the whole upper tier would produce a capacity of 63,000, although it is known that the stadium can expand to a maximum capacity of 84,000, this would never be exercised as the demand for space is at a minimum.〔 During construction, the stadium had not adopted an official name, and had been known colloquially as the "Wearside Stadium" and "New Roker Park".〔Days, p302〕 The name was eventually revealed as the Stadium of Light, a reference to a miner's lamp (the stadium is built on the site of the old Wearmouth Colliery, and many Sunderland fans have worked in the region's mines).〔 To emphasise the fact, a Davy lamp is located in front of the stadium's ticket office, adjacent to the stadium.〔 The stadium was opened on 30 July 1997 by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, with bands such as U2, Status Quo, Upside Down and Kavana playing. To celebrate the opening of the stadium, Sunderland played a friendly against Ajax, which was drawn 0–0.〔 The North Stand was extended in 2000 to bring the capacity to 49,000, costing the club a further £7 million, making the final cost of the stadium £23 million.〔Days, p303〕 On 18 July 2006, a statue of 1973 FA Cup Final winning manager Bob Stokoe was unveiled. At the end of season Football League awards, the Stadium of Light was named the ''Best Away Ground'', with other contenders including Crewe Alexandra's Alexandra Stadium and Plymouth Argyle's Home Park. Sunderland celebrated the tenth anniversary of the stadium with a pre-season friendly against Juventus on 6 August 2007; the game was drawn 1–1. In November 2011, the club announced that the away supporters' section would be moved from the South Stand to the North Stand Upper from the beginning of the 2012–13 season. As a result, minor modifications to the ground will be necessary. In December 2014 construction work began on a new 141 room Hilton Garden Inn hotel outside of the ground.〔http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/business/work-starts-on-sunderland-s-new-hilton-hotel-1-6988462〕 It is due to open in spring 2016. A proposed 6,000 capacity fanzone outside the South East Corner of the stadium is currently in the planning stage.〔http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/local/all-news/sunderland-councillors-back-plan-for-new-6-000-fan-zone-at-stadium-of-light-1-7339536〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stadium of Light」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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