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The Aviva Stadium is Ireland's first, and only, UEFA Elite Stadium located in Dublin. This 51,700-seater sports stadium is also known as Lansdowne Road Stadium.
The stadium has a bowl-shaped form and its roof is designed to undulate in a wave-like manner so as to avoid blocking light to local residences. The ground has a field size of 106m by 68m and surface is grassed with Perennial Ryegrass.
The stadium is controlled by the Irish Rugby Football Union and the Football Association of Ireland through a 50:50 joint venture called the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company.
History
The stadium is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road stadium, which was demolished in the year 2007.
The Aviva Group, Ireland signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights in 2009 and renamed the stadium. The stadium was officially opened on 14 May 2010 and bagged British Construction Industry Award the very next year.
In 2011, the stadium hosted Europa League Final. It also hosted the inaugural Nations Cup and also the regular home fixtures of the national rugby team and national football team.
Major Matches
Leinster Rugby won their first Heineken Cup game in this stadium, against the French Union Rugby Club, Clermont Auvergne during the 2010–11 season. The team had its quarter-final and semi-final matches too at the Aviva during this winning run.
On August 4th, 2010 the first soccer match in the Aviva Stadium was held between Manchester United and a League of Ireland XI side. ManU won the game 7–1, with Park Ji-Sung scoring his first ever goal.
Future Matches
On 19 September 2014, it was announced by UEFA that the stadium will host four Euro 2020 finals fixtures, three group games and a Round of 16 match. UEFA also announced that each qualified host country will play a minimum of two games at home stadium.
