The Heysel Stadium was a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. It was inaugurated on August 23, 1930 (days after Belgium's 100th anniversary) as the Stade du Jubilé (Jubilee Stadium) in the presence of Prince Leopold. It was built to embellish the Heysel plateau in view of the 1935 World's Fair. The stadium hosted 70,000 at the time. A wooden track for cycling races was later added around the lawn.

After World War II the stadium was progressively called Heysel Stadium. It hosted European Cup finals in 1958, 1966, 1974, and 1985 and Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1964, 1976, and 1980. The highest attendance at a European game was over 66,000 in 1958. Following the disaster of May 29 1985 the ground was only used for athletics and it still hosts the Memorial Van Damme every year.

A decade after the disaster the ground was rebuilt and renamed at a cost of BEF 1,500 million (around $50 million in 1995). As the Koning Boudewijnstadion/Stade Roi Baudouin (English: King Baudouin Stadium) it combined the football ground with a running track and facilities for field events. It was re-opened on August 23, 1995 as the stadium for the national team and is the largest stadium in Belgium; it can seat 50,000 spectators. It hosted the opening ceremony for Euro 2000.

On May 26, 2006 the Belgian Football Association decided not to use King Baudouin Stadium anymore for the national team home matches and for the Cup final, because the gates of the Stand One were too narrow. The next match of the national team was thus planned at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.

External links

• Stades mystiques - Stade du Heysel French

• Belgian FA official website - history

Athletics venues in Belgium | Buildings and structures in Brussels | Football venues in Belgium | Sport in Brussels | UEFA 4 star stadiums | UEFA European championship stadiums

König-Baudouin-Stadion | Estadio Rey Balduino | Stade Roi-Baudouin | Koning Boudewijnstadion | ヘイゼル・スタジアム