AFAS Stadion

Geschiedenis

AFAS Stadion, formerly called DSB Stadion is a stadium in Alkmaar, Netherlands. It is used for football matches and is the home stadium of AZ. The stadium is able to hold 17,023 people and it officially opened on August 4, 2006 with a friendly against Arsenal. AZ lost the match 3–0, with Gilberto Silva scoring the stadium's first ever goal. The first Eredivisie game against NAC Breda was won 8–1 by the home team with the German midfielder Simon Cziommer scoring a hat-trick.AFAS Stadion replaces the club's former ground, Alkmaarder Hout. The main stand is called Victorie Tribune, the stand with the fanatic supporters is called Van der Ben Tribune (Ben-Side), the stand behind the other goal is called the Alkmaarderhouttribune, in honour of the former stadium, and the stand opposite to the main stand is called Molenaar Tribune after the brothers Cees and Klaas Molenaar, founders of AZ. The official name is AFAS Stadion, but some supporters call it Victorie Stadion, a name that alludes to the turning point victory over Spanish troops besieging Alkmaar during the Eighty Years' War.In order to further grow the clubs budget the AZ Board made the decision to increase the stadiums capacity to 30,000 seats. This was to be achieved by adding a second tier to 3 of the 4 stands, leaving the main stand (The Victorie Tribune) as is. Construction was to begin in the second half of 2010. Construction never got underway though, as the clubs main sponsor, and one of the main financial contributors to the project, DSB Bank, went bankrupt shortly before work was to get underway, and as of 2017 the capacity remains at 17,023.