Jamsil Olympic Stadium | |
Location | Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea |
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Coordinates | 37°30′57″N 127°04′22″E / 37.515889°N 127.07275°E |
Owner | Seoul Sports Facilities Management Center |
Operator | Seoul Sports Facilities Management Center |
Capacity | 69,950 |
Field size | 110 x 75m |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 28 November 1976 |
Opened | 29 September 1984 |
Construction cost | 491 billion won |
Architect | Kim Swoo-geun |
Tenants | |
1986 Asian Games 1988 Summer Olympics 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup South Korea national football team (1984–2000, 2013) Seoul United (2007–2009, 2012) Seoul E-Land (2015–present) |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 서울올림픽주경기장 |
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Hanja | 서울올림픽主競技場 |
The Seoul Olympic Stadium, also known as Jamsil Olympic Stadium (formerly romanised as Chamshil) is located in Seoul, South Korea. It is the main stadium built for the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 10th Asian Games in 1986. It is the centrepiece of the Seoul Sports Complex in the Songpa District, in the southeast of the city south of the Han River.
This multi-purpose stadium was designed by Kim Swoo-geun. The lines of the stadium's profile imitate the elegant curves of a Korean Joseon Dynasty porcelain vase. Spectator seats are distributed on two tiers, totally covered. Initially built with a capacity of approximately 100,000, today it seats 69,950.
Prior to its construction, Seoul's largest venues were Dongdaemun Stadium and Hyochang Stadium. Seating 30,000 and 20,000 respectively, they were too small to attract world-class sporting events. Construction on the new stadium began in 1977 with the aim of staging the Asian Games in 1986. However, when Seoul was awarded the Games of the XXIV Olympiad in September 1981, this stadium became the centrepiece.
Officially, the stadium opened on 29 September 1984, and served as the site for the 10th Asian Games two years later, then the Olympics in 1988. However, it has not been used to stage a major world sporting event since then. It currently has no occupant, although the Korea Football Association has expressed interest in utilizing the stadium for national team matches once again.
The events hosted by the stadium during the Olympics were the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, athletics, the football finals, and the equestrian jumping individual final.