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Completed in 1951 and serving as Israel's largest stadium ever since, this all-seated stadium contains 41,583 seats, 13,370 of which are located in the Western Tribune, completed in 1982 - at the time the stadium went through a major refurbishing process. The stadium is mixed-use, fit for athletic competitions alongside its more popular usage as a football stadium when it hosts Israel international football matches along with the home UEFA Champions League matches of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa in the 2004 � 05 and 2009 � 10 seasons, respectively. The pitch dimensions are 105 m × 68 m (115 × 74 yd), with a 10500 m2 (2.6 acre) lawn. The stadium's plot area is 36000 m2 (8.9 acre). The stadium also contains 6 dressing rooms, meeting halls, a conference center, press rooms, referees' room and medical and drug-test clinics. It is sided by 2 training fields, large athletes clinic, a cafe-restaurant, and a 3,900 space open-air car park. It also houses the headquarters of the Israel Football Association. The artificial lighting conditions in the stadium are on the same level with the world's top stadiums, offering a max 1,550 lux on every part of the pitch. This is the only stadium in Israel which is in a world-class standard, and the only one to host official FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and UEFA Champions League games. The stadium is also the location for opening ceremonies of the Maccabiah Games. There are current plans to tear down the stadium and rebuild a bigger one, which is expected to have the capacity of 60,000 people. The stadium will cost more than 100 million dollars and is expected to start construction in 2011 and finish in 2015. |
