About stadium

Stadium introduction

As was the case for a lot football teams in England after the publication of the Taylor Report in 1990, Sunderland were required to convert their stadium into an all-seater. This was in direct response to the tragic events of the “Hillsborough Disaster”, which saw the tragic death of 96 fans during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. At the time Sunderland were playing their home matches at Roker Park which first opened way back in 1897. Designed in a different era, the conversion to all-seating greatly reduced the capacity of the ground, and thus in order to make up for the matchday revenue shortfall, the ground would need to be expanded. However due to Roker Park’s residential location, this would be impossible and thus Sunderland Chairman Bob Murray began to scout locations for a new stadium as early as 1991. Eventually the Black Cats identified a location on the north bank of the River Wear, and the designers of the Amsterdam Arena, Ballast Wiltshier, were hired to draw up concept plans. Initially proposed as a venue for Euro 96, planning permission was only granted in November 1995, and thus participation in the tournament was evidently too ambitious. As was the proposed 49,000 capacity design, which was scaled back during construction, although this was later achieved in 2000 when the north stand was renovated. Rather fittingly Ajax were invited to play the inaugural friendly match on the 30th July 1997, and ten years later to celebrate a decade at the Stadium of Light, the club held a friendly against Juventus on 6th August 2007.

How to get to the Stadium

Sunderland SR5 1SU