The day the Stadium of Light opened in a blaze of publicity
It was one of those ‘were you there’ moments.
That very special day when Sunderland’s brand new football stadium opened in front of a crowd of 41,600 people.
Super Kev begins his legendary journey
The date will be forever etched into the hearts of SAFC fans. July 30, 1997.
But it was special for so many more reasons than just the excitement of Sunderland having an all-new stadium. A new striker was on show and little did we know it but Kevin Phillips would become a Black Cats legend within a few years.
The story started two years earlier
Sunderland played out a goalless draw with Dutch giants Ajax that day, after Status Quo had provided the pre-match entertainment.
But the SoL story had actually started two years earlier. It was back in 1995 that council chiefs gave the green light to Sunderland Football Club’s proposed move to a new £12million super-stadium on the former site of Wearmouth Colliery.
Sunderland played at Roker Park for a grand total of 99 years from 1898 to 1997 before the Stadium of Light was opened by the Duke of York. The ground was the seventh home of the Black Cats before the club moved onto the old Wearmouth Colliery site.
Parachuting into the stadium
Days after that opening exhibition game, Sunderland played their first competitive game at the Stadium of Light in August 1997 and we want your memories of it.
Manchester City were the opposition but the entertainment began long before that with a parachutist who landed in the stadium in his Sunderland kit.
The action on the pitch was just as dramatic with Niall Quinn, Kevin Phillips and Lee Clark all scoring in a 3-1 win. The fans loved it and we want your memories of it. Email [email protected]