Alpensia Stadium – stadium description

Located charmingly at the heart of Alpensia, this stadium is a unique case globally. The field of play and seating layout have been planned to satisfy both football and ski jumping. The latter use is more regular as the playing field ends two ski jumps, one at hill size of 109 meters and another at 140m.

As a ski jump the building opened in 2009, for the Continental Cup events. From 2017 it’s also expected to host the more prestigious World Cup, while in 2018 the Winter Olympics will be held here. Initially the venue was earmarked for the opening and closing ceremonies, but in the end will only see ski jumping and Nordic combined events.

The stadium boasts three stands, with west side opening towards the ski jumping hills. North side is based entirely on hillside, east end partially so, while the main southern stand is a reinforced-concrete structure. It offers extensive infrastructure spreading over 4 floors, including the museum of ski jumping.

With the field being located at one of the lowest points throughout Daegwallyeong (700 m above sea level), the stadium offers great conditions for football in the summer. Over the years it hosted numerous youth and friendly events and in September 2016 a series of four official K-League Challenge games was held here, with Gangwon FC as hosts.