De Adelaarshorst – stadium description

The idea of building a private stadium in eastern Deventer was born after the club won its first Dutch championship in 1917. The ground opened in 1920 and to this day operates in the same location. When Go Ahead dominated the Netherlands for the 4th time in 1933, a new main grandstand was built, designed by prominent local architect Maarten van Harte.

Peak capacity was reached in 1960s, when the ground was officially able to hold 24,000 people. However, regulations forcing individual seating prompted huge changes in 1980s. The ground shrunk to just over 8,000. Interestingly, some of the seats installed at that time came from De Kuip.

The greatest redevelopment to date came in 2015, when in just 3 months the main grandstand and a new south end were erected. Based on modest foundations and primarily metal structures, these rose quickly, but still managed to give the stadium a traditional, almost English touch. And in more pragmatic terms: they allowed the stadium to exceed 10,000 covered seats.

In its history the stadium didn’t only host key domestic and European club games, but also saw the Netherlands smash Iceland 8:1 in 1973, before the team advanced to the 1974 World Cup. The senior national team didn’t play here anymore, but youth sides came on a couple occasions.