Yud-Alef Stadium

HaYud-Alef Stadium
איצטדיון הי"א
Construction

Location	6 HaHistadrut Street, Neighborhood A, Ashdod, Israel 77401
Coordinates	31°48′38″N 34°38′54″E / 31.810525°N 34.64845°E / 31.810525; 34.64845
Owner	Municipality of Ashdod
Operator	Municipality of Ashdod
Capacity	8,200
Surface	Grass
Broke ground	1966
Opened	1966
Tenants
Maccabi Ashdod (1966–1981) Beitar Ashdod (1966–1981) Hapoel Ashdod (1966–1999) Ironi Ashdod (1981–1999) F.C. Ashdod (1999–present)

The Yud-Alef Stadium (Hebrew: אצטדיון הי"א‎, Etztadion HaYudAlef, lit. The 11 Stadium) is a football stadium in Ashdod, Israel, that was built for local football sides Maccabi Ashdod, Beitar Ashdod (both merged in 1981 to form Maccabi Ironi Ashdod) and Hapoel Ashdod (merged with Ironi Ashdod in 1999 to create F.C. Ashdod).

The stadium was given the name "Yud-Alef" in 1973, after the eleven Israeli athletes murdered in the Munich massacre (Yud-Alef is used in Hebrew numerals used to represent the number 11). The naming ceremony took place on 17 July 1973, when the stadium hosted the final of the 1973 Maccabiah Games.^[1]

There are four stands in the stadium which is not aesthetically pleasing. The stadium is also thought to be one of the few in the world where the home fans have fewer seats than the visitors. There are a total of 4,000 seats in gates three and four (set aside for visiting supporters). Gates one and two together hold only 3,420 giving the local side a disadvantage when a bigger club comes to town.

In a recent article in Yedioth Ahronoth, it was found that the stadium was not built properly and is not safe. The only parts that were deemed safe were the locker rooms and showers. In January 2015 the stadium management unveiled a new a revamped VIP stand.^[2]

On 29 August 2006 the fences surrounding the pitch were removed to make for better sightliness for visitors to the stadium.^[3]

References

↑ Mexico Didn't Danger the U20's Gold At All Shmuel Shohat, Ma'ariv, 18 July 1973, Historical Jewish Press (Hebrew)
↑ An upgrade at the Stadium: Yes, But Only in the VIP Stand Yair Harush, 7 January 2015, Mynet.co.il (Hebrew)
↑ England in Ashdod: Stadium fences removed One.co.il (Hebrew)

Coordinates: 31°48′37″N 34°38′54″E / 31.81028°N 34.64833°E / 31.81028; 34.64833

Israeli Premier League

Clubs	Beitar Jerusalem Bnei Sakhnin Bnei Yehuda Hapoel Acre Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Kfar Saba Hapoel Ra'anana Hapoel Tel Aviv Ironi Kiryat Shmona Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Petah Tikva Maccabi Tel Aviv

Stadiums	Acre Stadium Bloomfield Stadium Doha Stadium HaMoshava Stadium Ironi Stadium Levita Stadium Netanya Stadium Sammy Ofer Stadium Teddy Stadium Turner Stadium

Former clubs	F.C. Ashdod Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan Hapoel Ashkelon Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Ramat Gan Hapoel Rishon LeZion Hapoel Nazareth Illit Hapoel Tzafririm Holon Hapoel Ramat HaSharon Maccabi Ahi Nazareth Maccabi Herzliya Maccabi Kiryat Gat

Competition	Champions Foreign players Players with 100+ goals Records All-time table

Seasons	1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

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