Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium

Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium

Former names	Tokyo Rugby Stadium (1947–1953)
Location	Kitaaoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Coordinates	35°40′21.37″N 139°43′5.41″E / 35.6726028°N 139.7181694°E / 35.6726028; 139.7181694
Owner	Japan Sport Council
Operator	Japan Sport Council
Capacity	27,188
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	1947
Renovated	1973, 2003
Tenants
NTT Shining Arcs Sunwolves

Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium (秩父宮ラグビー場, Chichibunomiya Ragubī-jō) (also called Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium) in the Aoyama district of central Tokyo is the spiritual home of Japanese rugby union and the headquarters of the Japan Rugby Football Union. The venue is used mostly for rugby sevens and rugby union matches.^[1]

Facilities

The stadium currently can accommodate 27,188 spectators, but only part of the stands are covered. A large electronic scoreboard was added to the grounds as a step toward modernization before the fifth Rugby World Cup in 2003.

On April 19, 2007, it was announced that the stadium was to be equipped with lights for night games by the end of July, to assist with the RWC 2015 bid. The first rugby game under lights was Japan v Asian Barbarians in August 2007, the send-off for Japan going to RWC 2007. Since then it has been used for the first Top League game of the 2007–8 season between Suntory Sungoliath and Toshiba Brave Lupus, also played under lights and won 10–3 by the former on October 26, 2008.

History

Originally completed in 1947, it was at first called Tokyo Rugby Stadium. In 1953 the name was changed to Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium. The stadium also served as a venue for football matches in the 1964 Summer Olympics.

The name Chichibunomiya commemorates the sporting prince, Prince Chichibu, who was not a rugby union player but was passionately fond of the sport and died in 1953. His statue is in the stadium.

On February 3, 2008, snow prevented two Top League games being played in the 13th and final round of the fifth season. They were postponed to February 9.

From 2012 through 2015, the stadium hosted the Japan Sevens, a newly created event on the circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams now known as the World Rugby Sevens Series. When inaugurated, the tournament was the seventh on the circuit schedule, and was held in late March/early April.^[2] After the 2014–15 series, Japan was removed from the schedule in favor of a return to former series host Singapore.

See also

• Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium
• Japan national rugby union team
• Top League

References

• 1964 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. Part 1. p. 120.
• 秩父宮ラグビー場, National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium.

Olympic venues in association football
1900 Vélodrome de Vincennes 1904 Francis Field 1908 White City Stadium 1912 Råsunda IP, Stockholm Olympic Stadium (final), Tranebergs Idrottsplats 1920 Jules Ottenstadion, Olympisch Stadion (final), Stade Joseph Marien, Stadion Broodstraat 1924 Stade Bergeyre, Stade de Colombes (final), Stade de Paris, Stade Pershing 1928 Monnikenhuize, Olympic Stadium (final), Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel 1936 Hertha-BSC Field, Mommsenstadion, Olympiastadion (final), Poststadion 1948 Arsenal Stadium, Champion Hill, Craven Cottage, Empire Stadium (medal matches), Fratton Park, Goldstone Ground, Green Pond Road, Griffin Park, Lynn Road, Selhurst Park, White Hart Lane 1952 Helsinki Football Grounds, Kotka, Lahti, Olympic Stadium (final), Tampere, Turku 1956 Melbourne Cricket Ground (final), Olympic Park Stadium 1960 Florence Communal Stadium, Grosseto Communal Stadium, L'Aquila Communal Stadium, Livorno Ardenza Stadium, Naples Saint Paul's Stadium, Pescara Adriatic Stadium, Stadio Flaminio (final) 1964 Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium, Mitsuzawa Football Field, Nagai Stadium, Tokyo National Stadium (final), Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium, Ōmiya Football Field, Prince Chichibu Memorial Football Field 1968 Estadio Azteca (final), Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Estadio Nou Camp, Jalisco Stadium 1972 Drei Flüsse Stadion, ESV-Stadion, Jahnstadion, Olympiastadion (final), Rosenaustadion, Urban Stadium 1976 Lansdowne Park, Olympic Stadium (final), Sherbrooke Stadium, Varsity Stadium 1980 Dinamo Stadium, Dynamo Central Stadium, Grand Arena, Grand Arena (final), Kirov Stadium, Republican Stadium 1984 Harvard Stadium, Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Rose Bowl (final), Stanford Stadium 1988 Busan Stadium, Daegu Stadium, Daejeon Stadium, Dongdaemun Stadium, Olympic Stadium (final) 1992 Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta, Camp Nou (final), Estadio Luís Casanova, La Romareda, Sarrià Stadium 1996 Florida Citrus Bowl, Legion Field, Orange Bowl, RFK Memorial Stadium, Sanford Stadium (both finals) 2000 Stadium Australia, Brisbane Cricket Ground, Bruce Stadium, Hindmarsh Stadium, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Olympic Stadium (men's final), Sydney Football Stadium (women's final) 2004 Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Karaiskakis Stadium (women's final), Olympic Stadium (men's final), Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, Pankritio Stadium, Panthessaliko Stadium 2008 Beijing National Stadium (men's final), Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Shanghai Stadium, Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Workers' Stadium (women's final) 2012 City of Coventry Stadium, Hampden Park, Millennium Stadium, St James' Park, Old Trafford, Wembley Stadium (both finals) 2016 Estádio Nacional de Brasília, Arena Fonte Nova, Mineirão, Arena Corinthians, Arena da Amazônia, Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, Maracanã (both finals)