Ajax's ground and the first stadium in Europe with a retractable roof. Renamed for Johan Cruyff in 2018, three years after his death.
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Johan Cruijff ArenA 27
1993Construction begins in the BijlmerAmsterdam, NetherlandsAjax left De Meer for a site in Amsterdam Zuidoost, a district built in the 1960s on modernist principles and by then in decline. The stadium was intended to regenerate it.
1996Johan Cruijff ArenA opensAmsterdam, NetherlandsAjax's ground and the first stadium in Europe with a retractable roof. Renamed for Cruyff in 2018. Capacity 55,865.
1996The opening and a fatal weekendAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe stadium's opening was overshadowed when a Feyenoord supporter was killed in fighting near Beverwijk between rival fans, an incident that reshaped Dutch policing of football.
1996The retractable roof and the grass problemAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe roof made Europe's first covered football stadium possible, but shade and still air killed the pitch. It had to be relaid repeatedly for a decade before hybrid turf and grow lights solved it.
1997Ajax reach a Champions League semi-finalAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe last European run of the side that had won the competition in 1995, before the Bosman ruling dismantled the squad.
1998Champions League finalAmsterdam, NetherlandsReal Madrid beat Juventus 1–0 to win their seventh European Cup, their first in 32 years.
1998Real Madrid win the European Cup at the ArenAAmsterdam, NetherlandsA 1–0 defeat of Juventus gave Madrid a seventh title after 32 years without one.
2000Euro 2000Amsterdam, NetherlandsThe stadium hosted matches including a semi-final in the tournament co-hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium, the first major finals shared by two countries.
2000Euro 2000 in AmsterdamAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe ground hosted group matches and a semi-final in the tournament shared by the Netherlands and Belgium, the first Euros co-hosted by two countries.
2001Concerts and the Bijlmer noise disputeAmsterdam, NetherlandsLarge concerts became a core part of the business, and complaints from surrounding flats led to limits on how late events could run.
2005The Amsterdam ArenA hosts American footballAmsterdam, NetherlandsNFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals played here, part of an experiment in exporting the sport that folded in 2007.
2007The pitch is finally solvedAmsterdam, NetherlandsA hybrid surface of natural grass stitched with artificial fibres, plus mobile lighting rigs, ended eleven years of unplayable winters.
2010The Netherlands reach the World Cup finalAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe squad that lost in Johannesburg was received in Amsterdam, with the ArenA at the centre of the homecoming.
2013Europa League finalAmsterdam, NetherlandsChelsea beat Benfica 2–1 with a stoppage-time header, becoming the first club to hold both European trophies at once.
2013Europa League finalAmsterdam, NetherlandsChelsea beat Benfica 2–1 with a header in the fifth minute of stoppage time, becoming the first club to hold the Champions League and Europa League at the same time.
2016Johan Cruyff diesAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe player who had defined Ajax and the idea of Total Football died at 68. Supporters filled the ground for a tribute, and the campaign to rename the stadium began immediately.
2018Renamed for Johan CruyffAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe ground took the name of the player who had defined Ajax and Dutch football, on what would have been his 71st birthday.
2018The renamingAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe Amsterdam ArenA became the Johan Cruijff ArenA on what would have been his 71st birthday, using the Dutch spelling he had been born with.
2019Ajax reach a Champions League semi-final againAmsterdam, NetherlandsA young side beat Real Madrid and Juventus away before losing to Tottenham on away goals in the last minute of the second leg, played at the ArenA.
2019The Cruyff statueAmsterdam, NetherlandsA bronze of Cruyff was unveiled outside the ground, and the surrounding square renamed after him.
2020An empty stadiumAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe Dutch league was abandoned without a champion for the first time since the war, and the ArenA played out the following season behind closed doors.
2021Euro 2020 matchesAmsterdam, NetherlandsAmsterdam hosted four matches in the tournament spread across eleven cities and delayed a year by the pandemic.
2021Euro 2020 matchesAmsterdam, NetherlandsAmsterdam staged four fixtures in the tournament spread across eleven cities and delayed a year by the pandemic.
2022Second-life battery storageAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe stadium installed one of Europe's largest energy storage systems, built from used and new electric car batteries, to run the ground and feed the grid.
2022Second-life battery storageAmsterdam, NetherlandsThe ground installed one of Europe's largest energy storage systems, built from 148 used and new Nissan Leaf batteries, running the stadium and feeding the national grid.
2023A match abandoned by flaresAmsterdam, NetherlandsAjax against Feyenoord was called off after objects were thrown onto the pitch, and finished behind closed doors days later — the season Ajax finished fifth, their worst in decades.
2024Solar, water and the sustainability programmeAmsterdam, NetherlandsRooftop panels, rainwater collection and the battery system made the ArenA one of the most-cited examples of a large stadium run on its own energy infrastructure.