Stadio Diego Armando Maradona – stadium description

Initially called Stadio del Sole (Stadium of the Sun), the venue later adapted another name, celebrating Saint Paul. After incredible performances of Maradona in local side Napoli and during World Cup 1990 it was proposed to rename it to Stadio Diego Maradona, but law prohibited giving patronage to people unless they were… dead for a decade or more.

Back in the early years it was to be a single-tiered stadium, but architects changed their concept after negotiations, incorporating a smaller lower tier, below ground-level. Construction lasted a whole 11 years. Quite a lot, but then again, with capacity of nearly 90,000 (standing) it was among best stadiums in Italy for decades since opening in 1959.

Both its scale and importance of Naples made it one of Euro 1980 and 1990 World Cup venues, not counting numerous prestigious games by the national team and European fixtures of Napoli. Since 1970 it’s also being used as concert venue with the likes of U2 or Rolling Stones performing among a long list of domestic musicians.

How Stadio Diego Armando Maradona compares to other Serie A stadiums?