Sapporo Dome

Hiroba
Location	Sapporo, Japan
Coordinates	43°0′54.62″N 141°24′35.16″E / 43.0151722°N 141.4097667°E / 43.0151722; 141.4097667Coordinates: 43°0′54.62″N 141°24′35.16″E / 43.0151722°N 141.4097667°E / 43.0151722; 141.4097667
Opened	June 3, 2001
Owner	Sapporo Dome Co.,Ltd.
Capacity	53,845
Field dimensions	Left Field - 100 m (328.1 ft) Center Field - 122 m (400.3 ft) Right Field - 100 m (328.1 ft) Height of Outfield Fence - 5.75 m (18.9 ft)
Tenants
Consadole Sapporo (J. League) (2001-current) Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters(Pacific League) (2004-current)

The Sapporo Dome (札幌ドーム, Sapporo Dōmu^?) is a stadium located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and football. It is the home field of the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the football club Consadole Sapporo.

[edit] History

The Sapporo Dome opened in 2001 and has 41,580 seats. This stadium hosted 3 games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Germany vs Saudi Arabia, Argentina vs England and Italy vs Ecuador; all three matches were in the first round.

The Dome hosted the opening ceremonies to the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships on February 22 and hosted the closing ceremonies of the championships on March 4. It also made history as being the first venue where both indoor and nighttime skiing events took place for the first time on a world championship or Winter Olympic Games level with competitions in the cross country skiing sprints (men's and women's individual, and men's and women's team) and the cross country portion of the 7.5 km sprint event in the nordic combined. In order to generate snow, the stadium used its turf conversion hovering system to facilitate the snow making process for the skiing competitions.^[1] The opening ceremony featured Maki Ohguro, a local artist from Sapporo, Japanese drum demonstrations and other performances paying tributes to local customs and traditions.^[1] For the championships, seating capacity was reduced to 30,000.^[1]

The Dome was used at the 2008 Rally Japan for a super special stage.

[edit] Retractable surface

Retractable grass field shown outside the stadium

The Dome is interesting in that it switches between two entirely different surfaces. Baseball games are played on an artificial turf field, while football games are held on a grass pitch that slides into and out of the stadium as needed. Some other stadiums that feature sliding pitches include the Gelredome in the Netherlands, Veltins-Arena in Germany and University of Phoenix Stadium in the United States; however, unlike these three facilities, the Sapporo Dome has a fixed roof.

Conversion from baseball to football begins with the storage of the baseball field's artificial turf. Once finished, a set of lower bowl bleachers rotate from an angled position for baseball to a parallel position. A set of main bowl seats on one end of the dome then retracts, and the football pitch is slid into the stadium. The lower bowl is then rotated 90 degrees. Conversion from football to baseball occurs in reverse.

[edit] Details

Baseball configuration

• Name: Sapporo Dome
• Capacity: 42,831
• Home Teams: Consadole Sapporo, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
• Completed: March 2001
• Location: Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan
• Building Area: 53,800 m² Total Floor Area:(Open Arena) 97,503 m²
• Roof Diameter: 245 m Stand Inclination: Max. 30° angle
• Architect: Hiroshi Hara

[edit] See also

Other domed stadiums in Japan:

• Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome in Fukuoka (retractable roof)
• Nagoya Dome in Nagoya
• Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka
• Ōita Stadium or "Big Eye" in Oita Prefecture (retractable roof)
• Tokyo Dome

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} FIS Newsflash Edition 112. January 31, 2007.

[edit] External links

• (English) Dome website
• (English) Football Stadium in Japan - Sapporo Dome
• (English) World Stadiums - Stadium Design :: Sapporo Dome Stadium in Sapporo