View source for Ramat Gan Stadium

{{Short description|Football stadium in the Tel Aviv District, Israel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox venue
| stadium_name = Ramat Gan Stadium
| nickname = 
| image = [[Image:Ramat Gan Ramat Gan Stadium 3.jpg|300px]]
| fullname = 
| former names = The National Stadium (1954-2014)
| location = {{flagicon|Israel}} [[Ramat Gan]], [[Tel Aviv District]], [[Israel]]
| coordinates = 
| broke_ground = 
| built = 1950
| opened = 1950
| renovated = 1984, 1993
| expanded = 1982
| closed = 
| demolished = 
| owner = [[Israel Football Association]]
| operator = 
| surface = Grass
| construction_cost = [[Israeli pound|IL]]400,000
| architect = Ivor Shaw Friba
| structural engineer =
| services engineer =
| general_contractor =
| project_manager =
| main_contractors = 
| former_names = 
| tenants = [[Israel national football team]] (1956–2013) <br /> [[Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.|Maccabi Tel Aviv]] (1985-1986, 1987-1995, 1996-2000) <br /> [[Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C.|Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim]] (2015–present){{Unbulleted list|item1_style=background-color:#ccc;|'''Major sporting events hosted'''|[[1964 AFC Asian Cup]]}}
| seating_capacity  = 13,370 (permitted seats)
| dimensions        = 105 × 68 m (115 × 74&nbsp;yd)
| publictransit = {{rint|il|tel aviv light rail}} [[File:Red Line (Tel Aviv Light Rail) R1.svg|15px|link=Red Line (Tel Aviv Light Rail)]] [[File:Red Line (Tel Aviv Light Rail) R2.svg|15px|link=Red Line (Tel Aviv Light Rail)]] at Ben-Gurion<br>{{rint|il|rail}} [[Yarkon Railway|Yarkon Railway Line]] at [[Bnei Brak–Ramat HaHayal railway station|Bnei Brak]]
}}
'''Ramat Gan Stadium''' ({{langx|he|אצטדיון רמת גן}}, ''Itztadion Ramat Gan'') is a football stadium in the [[Tel Aviv District]] city of [[Ramat Gan]], [[Israel]]. It served as the [[national stadium]] of Israel until 2014.

==Overview==
Completed in 1951 and serving as Israel's largest stadium ever since, the all-seated Ramat Gan Stadium contains 41,583 seats, 13,370 of which are located in the Western Tribune, completed during a major refurbishment in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://football.org.il/association/aboutassociation/faq/natinalstadiumfaq/|title=IFA website}}</ref>

The Ramat Gan Stadium is mixed-use, fit for athletic competitions alongside its more regular usage as a [[Association football|football]] stadium. It hosts Israeli international football matches, and has hosted the home [[UEFA Champions League]] matches of [[Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.|Maccabi Tel Aviv]] and [[Maccabi Haifa F.C.|Maccabi Haifa]] in the [[2004–05 UEFA Champions League|2004–05]] and [[2009–10 UEFA Champions League|2009–10 seasons]], respectively. The pitch dimensions are 105 m × 68 m (115 × 74&nbsp;yd), with a {{convert|10500|m2|acre|abbr=on}} lawn. The stadium's plot area is {{convert|36000|m2|acre|abbr=on}}.

The Ramat Gan Stadium contains six dressing rooms, meeting halls, a conference center, press rooms, a referees' room and medical and drug-test clinics. It is sided by two training fields, large athletes clinic, a café-restaurant, and a 3,900 space open-air [[car park]]. It also houses the headquarters of the [[Israel Football Association]].

The world-class artificial lighting in the Ramat Gan Stadium provides up to 1,550 [[lux]] on the entire the pitch. Until the opening of [[Sammy Ofer Stadium]] in [[Haifa]], it was the only world-class stadium in Israel and the only Israeli stadium to host official [[FIFA World Cup]] Qualifiers and [[UEFA Champions League]] games, although [[Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.|Hapoel Tel Aviv]] got permission to stage their [[2010-11 UEFA Champions League|2010 Champions League]] games at the [[Bloomfield Stadium]]. Until 2013, the stadium was also the location for opening ceremonies of the [[Maccabiah Games]]; since 2013, opening ceremonies have taken place in [[Teddy Stadium]], [[Jerusalem]]. With the more modern [[Sammy Ofer Stadium]] and [[Teddy Stadium]] replacing the Ramat Gan Stadium as alternative home venues for the Israel National Football Team, as of 2018 the stadium remains largely abandoned as a venue for football games.

According to [[Israel Football Association|IFA]] former president [[Avi Luzon]], there are plans to tear down the Ramat Gan Stadium and rebuild a larger one with expected capacity of 55,000 people. But by the end of 2016 it was not established.

==Entertainment==
The stadium has hosted musical acts such as [[Depeche Mode]], [[Elton John]], [[R.E.M.]], [[Yeah Yeah Yeahs]], [[Leonard Cohen]], [[Sting (musician)|Sting]], [[High on Fire]], [[Orphaned Land]], [[Metallica]], [[Simon and Garfunkel]], [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Kanye West]]. In 2012, [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] opened [[the MDNA Tour]] at the stadium, playing in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 33,000 people.

== Gallery ==

<gallery widths="170" heights="160" perrow="3">
File:Ramat Gan Stadium 038.jpg
File:Ramat Gan Ramat Gan Stadium 4.jpg
File:Ramat Gan Stadium and Ayalon Mall 01.jpg
File:A PARACHUTING EXHIBTION DURING THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE 3RD "MACCABIA GAMES" - 2.JPG
File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - The Dutch Delegation.jpg
File:Friendly match between Israel and Turkey, Ramat Gan stadium, September 1950 D448-100.jpg
File:Lev Yashin, fails to stop a goal during the soccer match agains Israel, 1958 D448-092.jpg
File:Ramat Gan Stadium.jpg
File:Ramat Gan Ramat Gan Stadium 2.jpg
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Ramat Gan Stadium}}
* [http://www.stadiumguide.com/ramat-gan-stadium/ Stadium pictures] at Stadiumguide.com

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
|title=[[AFC Asian Cup]]<br />Host Venue
|before=[[Dongdaemun Stadium]] <br /> {{flagicon|South Korea|1949}} [[Seoul]]
|after=[[Shahid Shiroudi Stadium|Amjadieh Stadium]]<br /> {{flagicon|Iran|1964}} [[Tehran]]
|years='''[[1964 AFC Asian Cup|1964]]'''
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Liga Leumit}}
{{Israel national football team}}
{{Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.}} 
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|32|6|1|N|34|49|27|E|type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:Football venues in Israel]]
[[Category:Athletics (track and field) venues in Israel]]
[[Category:National stadiums|Israel]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Ramat Gan]]
[[Category:Multi-purpose stadiums in Israel]]