[HibeeJibee]

I know it well. It is officially the largest stadium in the world, and I like stadiums. A lot. If my memory serves me correctly it also holds the largest attendance for wrestling in history. And it isn't even the National Football Stadium, that being the 70,000 all seater Kim Il Sung Stadium.

Some basic information can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia....May_Day_Stadium
http://www.fussballt...RK/May_Day.html
http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictu. ..g_may_day.shtml
http://www.imagesatintl.com/default.asp? ca...A-BD3D22F459F1}

This post has been edited by HibeeJibee: 17 May 2007 - 18:51

[HibeeJibee]

A race track isn't a 'stadium' surely, a race track is a circuit? Anyway, the North Korean one is the largest field sports stadium/arena in the world, beating the Saltlake Calcutta by over 30k.

[HibeeJibee]

I suspect you get a beating and your grandfather 'disappears' if you don't attend. It is North Korea...... However, absolutely no details on the North Korean leagues exist, since it is such a secretive state - thus we have to rely on internationals if we want any kind of attendance data. From the Almanack of World Football, in the past 5 years, these are their home attendances:
- v India and Lebanon (Asia Cup qualifiers) no record of crowd; they refused to play Jordan
- 30,000 v Iran (Asia Cup qualifier)
- 20,000 v UAW (World Cup qualifier)
- 20,000 v Thailand (")
- 15,000 v Yemen (")
- 50,000 v Bahrain (")
- 55,000 v Iran (")
They had to play their match v Japan in Bangkok.
However, all these matches were played in the Kim-Il Sung Stadium (70,000) or the Yanggakdo Stadium (30,000) both of which are in Pyongyang, population 2,787,000 people

[eksaint]

the may day stadium is set to be demolished as it is unsafe

[HibeeJibee]

kennadice, on May 18 2007, 19:32, said:

What about the Strahov stadium in prague it seats about 250,000 i think.

Aye, but it had 9 pitches inside it not 1!! Anyway the Velký Strahovský Stadion was demolished in stages over the past 5 years (although a Berwick fans XI did get changed in it a few years ago when playing a local team nearby) and I think it's now housing etc.

See: http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/ ...e_strahov.shtml

[Swampy]

The stadium is mostly used, I believe, for Mass Games. Look them up on YouTube. They are at once frightening and amazing.

Also, following on from the bit about North Korean attendances, the reason they had to face Japan in Bangkok was because of crowd trouble after the match against Iran. The fans protested a refereeing decision with inappropriate fervour and FIFA had to step in.

I remember the KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) said they were rioting because of the "wrong" decisions of the referee. Nice impartial journalism there

This post has been edited by Swampy: 20 May 2007 - 13:04

[mid-table]

A good friend (and ex-flatmate) went to the Mass Games in May Day Stadium last year. He even sent me a postcard of it! I'll send him an email and see if he has any interesting footage of it. I've seen a video of it, it's quite mental.
I'm aiming to go either next year or 2009.

The best I've done is the Seoul Olympic Stadium, this is me and my mates staging a photo finish on the same bit of track that Ben Johnson did his drugs run in 1988.

[mid-table]

He was there for the Mass Games, didn't go to any football there though. You have to do whatever the tour itinerary is, which is agreed months in advance with the tour company (koryotours.co.uk) and the Korean Toursim Ministry. You can't just decide to go to the football cos there's a game on.

There might be some footage of the stadium on the film A Game Of Their Lives, about the 1966 North Korean team that got to the World Cup quarter finals. I watched it last summer and the team reunited in Pyongyang, can't remember if it was at the stadium or elsewhere.

[mid-table]

Info from my mate (doesn't tell you much you didn't know already, but it's a first hand account). Everything from here on is my friend's words (he was meant to be going to the Mass Games but it was one of the ones that didn't happen);

Not been to mayday stadium as werent there for mass games but got a couple of shots of the outside of it. did you know its on an island?



Thought i'd chuck in a scenic one of Kim Il-Sung stadium as well as thats more central and easier to get pictures of. It's also where the DPRK national team play their matches, and the scene of the crowd disorder v Iran. I like this photo, i've also got another one of me standing outside it but dont want my mug all over a lower league scottish football website, i dread to think the sort of wrong uns who'd be getting the kleenex to hand.



This pic was taken from the top of the TV transmitter tower in Pyongyang, the Island you can see in the river Taedong is the next one along from the Mayday, which is kind of diagonally behind my left shoulder as I took the picture, but still a fair hike from the centre of town. Next time Scotland play there in the Kim Il sung - William Wallace friendship cup, from the airport, drive straight for about 15 miles, past the 3 revolutions exhibition, as far as the giant Arch of Triumph (not to be confused with Paris's poor copy of it, imaginatively titled Arc de Triumph) and chuck a left. You can't miss it!

This post has been edited by mid-table: 02 June 2007 - 19:55

[badgers apprentice]

anybody know the biggest baseball stadium in the states?

[Frank Booth]

badgers apprentice, on Jun 2 2007, 22:53, said:

anybody know the biggest baseball stadium in the states?

The Yankee Stadium holds 57545