Originally
the plan was to extend the Harry Elte Stadium, but the local authority turned
down the idea as they wanted the land where it stood to build housing. Instead
a brand new stadium to the west of the Harry Elte Stadium was commissioned.
Building work began in January 1926, with Prince Hendrik placing the first ceremonial stone in May 1927. The stadium had a running track, with a banked cycle track of 500m outside the track. The capacity of the single tiered stadium was around 31,50, although an extra 5,900 seats could temporarily added over the cycle track.
The
1928 games saw the burning of the Olympic flame for the first time on top of
the Marathon Tower, where electronics company Philips fitted four speakers to
broadcast messages. During the games, the stadium hosted the equestrian
jumping, field hockey, football, gymnastics and korfball (demonstration)
events.
Following
the Games Ajax and Blau-Wit shared the stadium for their home games. Ajax moved
into their own De Meer Stadion in 1934 but continued to use Olympisch Stadion
for bigger matches. It was also used for cycling, speedway, athletics and
hockey.
In
1937 an extended second tier was added to the north and south wings to extend
the capacity to 64,000. Floodlights were added to the stadium so that Ajax
could play their European ties in the stadium, while the Holland national teams
staged several international games away from De Kuip in Rotterdam.
In
1962 Olympisch Stadion staged the European Cup Final, in which Benfica defeated
Real Madrid 5-3. Ajax hammered Liverpool 5-1 in 1966 in a famous match dubbed "De
Mistwedstrijd" (the fog match), before Hamburger SV defeated RSC
Anderlecht in the 1977 European Cup Winners Cup Final in the old arena in front
of a crowd of 66,000.
The
stadium hosted the 1987 Speedway World Championship Final.
The
final big football match came when Ajax drew 0-0 with Torino in the second leg
of the 1992 UEFA Cup Final to win the trophy after the first leg in Italy had
ended 2-2. By now the stadium was becoming unsuitable for holding big crowds.
Ajax moved into the newly built Amsterdam ArenA in 1996.
The
Amsterdam Admirals played the 1995 and 1996 seasons in the World League of
American Football.
The
city government had announced plans to demolish Olympisch Stadion in 1987, but
it was saved to become a national monument. In 1996 it was renovated with the
second tier being removed so the stadium returned to its original design.
The
cycle track was removed, with offices installed in its place. The stadium once
again became an ideal venue for track and field events. The stadium was
re-opened by the Prince of Orange in May 2000.
Areas
around the stadium were also given a facelift with tennis courts, football
pitches, a park and athletics track.
The
stadium was chosen to host the 2016 European Athletics Championships.
My
visit
Wednesday
27th January 2016
If
ever I visited a city that had staged the Olympic Games I always tried to make
a call to simply take in the history of the place. When I’d been in Amsterdam
as part of my Eurorail tour in October 2000, I’d failed. Admittedly I was low
on cash and energy by that stage, plus I was completely ignorant of the
benefits of the internet. I managed the trip by guide book!
This
was a bit of a shame as I might have have seen the old place in its full glory,
although to be fair it looked like they’d done a fine job in restoring it. All
the monuments looked good, and there were many signs to show that the stadium
did indeed hold the 1928 summer games.
I
took the 197 bus after calling at Blauw-Wit Beursbengels which dropped me
outside the stadium. Unfortunately the stadium was locked and no tours were
scheduled. A gate down one side had a Perspex shield so that I could at least
see across to the Main Stand. It was still worth a good walk around.
Once
done I caught a tram down to Amstelveenesteg for a train on to Zuid station.
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