Minaminagano Stadium – stadium description

The Olympic complex in southern Nagano is usually associated the 1998 Olympics or baseball. These two thoughts are obviously true, but it’s high time to think of this place as a football hub too. In 2002 a modest stadium was opened on the east edge of the park, holding up to 6,000 people, though very few seated.

In these circumstances local club AC Nagano Parceiro began to thrive. Especially when the plan of joining newly-formed J3 League was announced. The team joined the league in 2014, forcing investment in infrastructure. A brand new stadium was planned, now with 15,000+ seats to meet the J1 League regulations, should the club reach the Japanese top flight in the future.

Due to site constraints the stadium nearly touches the tennis court complex in the west. Main access route comprises of a vast ramp leading from the north-west, while smaller complimentary ramps are located around the stadium. All of these lead to the ground level.

At this point fans may either choose the lower tier with 12 rows or take the stairs up to the 14-row upper deck. Only the south end differs significantly in height and size, opening the stadium visually to the mountains just a few miles away.

The project was eventually worth almost ¥8 billion ($66m / €60m), noticeably above the initial estimations of 7.1 billion. Vast majority was publicly-financed, shared by the central budget (3.8bn) and municipal bonds (3.2bn). Despite large extent of work for a stadium of this capacity, all works were carried out in just 14 months.