Skonto Stadium
Skonto Stadium (Latvian: Skonto stadions) is a football stadium in Riga, Latvia. The stadium has 8,087 seats and was built in 2000. It is the 2nd-largest stadium in Latvia. Riga FC usually have an average attendance of 500. The stadium design incorporates Skonto Hall.
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| Location | E. Melngaiļa 1a, Riga, Latvia |
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| Capacity | 8,087[1] |
| Opened | June 28, 2000[2] |
| Tenants | |
| Skonto FC (2000–2016) Latvia national football team (2000-2017) Riga FC (2016–present) | |
Description
Skonto Stadium is located in the heart of Riga - Street E. Melngaiļa 1a, Riga, Latvia. It is the biggest football stadium with 9,500 seats, VIP lounges, offices, a press centre and cafes.
Use
Skonto Stadium is mostly used for hosting football matches. Since its opening in 2000, it has been the home stadium for the Latvian Higher League club Skonto Riga and Latvia national football team, as well as Latvia U-21.
International artists have performed at this venue, including Aerosmith and Metallica in 2008, both of whom reached the maximum capacity for concerts, with 32,000 and 33,000 fans, respectively. Several other artists have performed there too, for example, Snoop Dogg, Massive Attack, Depeche Mode and Akon.
In 2003 Skonto stadium hosted Latvian Song and Dance Festival, but in 2008 a friendly match between Latvian and Georgian football veterans was played at this venue.
In 2009 Latvian football club FK Ventspils used this stadium for its home matches in the UEFA Europa League matches, because of technical problems with its own stadium.
Attendance
The largest attendance seen by the Skonto Stadium so far in a football match was 9,000 people in 2003 for the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying playoff game between Latvia and Turkey.[3]