Newcastle United set to play at 68,000 seater stadium worth over £1bn

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Newcastle United are playing two pre-season matches in Tokyo this week.

The Magpies face Urawa Red Diamonds at Saitama Stadium on Wednesday, July 31 (7:30pm kick-off JST) and Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday, August 3 (7pm kick-off JST) at the Japan National Stadium in Shinjuku City, Tokyo.

Here is some information on both stadiums ahead of Newcastle’s matches in Japan.

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Saitama Stadium 2002

A general view shows spectators using their mobile phones' torches before the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Asian zone qualification football match between Japan and China at Saitama Stadium in Saitama on January 27, 2022. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) (Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)A general view shows spectators using their mobile phones' torches before the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Asian zone qualification football match between Japan and China at Saitama Stadium in Saitama on January 27, 2022. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) (Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)
A general view shows spectators using their mobile phones' torches before the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Asian zone qualification football match between Japan and China at Saitama Stadium in Saitama on January 27, 2022. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) (Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images

The Saitama Stadium is one of the largest purpose-built football stadiums in Asia. The stadium was built ahead of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and opened in October 2001.

It is home to the Urawa Red Diamonds and has a capacity of 63,700. The Saitama Stadium hosted four matches at the 2002 World Cup, including Brazil’s semi-final win over Turkey.

It also hosted seven matches at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, including Mexico’s bronze medal win over Japan.

The stadium is regularly used by Japan’s national football team and is located about 30km from central Tokyo.

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Japan National Stadium

TOKYO, JAPAN - JUNE 06: A general view during the international friendly match between Japan and Brazil at National Stadium on June 6, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)TOKYO, JAPAN - JUNE 06: A general view during the international friendly match between Japan and Brazil at National Stadium on June 6, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN - JUNE 06: A general view during the international friendly match between Japan and Brazil at National Stadium on June 6, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Japan National Stadium is located in Shinjuku City in the heart of Tokyo. It is a multi-purpose stadium and the main stadium for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

The stadium opened in 2019 at a cost of just over £1billion. Since the Olympics, it has been used by Japan’s national rugby team as well as four international matches for Japan’s national football team.

The Japan National Stadium has a capacity of 68,698 for football matches though this can be temporarily expanded to just over 80,000 with seating over the running track.

It is unlikely that such temporary seating will be in place for Newcastle’s visit to face Yokohama on Saturday. The stadium replaced the ‘old’ Japan National Stadium that was demolished to make way for the new design in 2015.

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The stadium is unique in the fact that it features wooden components with Japanese timber used in addition to steel and reinforced concrete to reduce the environmental impact of its construction. The stadium roof features transparent solar panels and collects rainwater underground to be used to maintain the stadium’s grass turf.

The stadium will be Newcastle’s final stop on their pre-season visit to Japan and is located close the club’s hotel base in Toyko.

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