Laugardalsvollur

The Laugardalsvöllur does not hide behind a banner. It remains the same today as it was when the first match was played there in 1957. It sits in the Laugardalur district. The ground is owned by the City of Reykjavik, and the Football Association of Iceland manages it. It is not a private club’s fortress; it is the national stadium.

What makes this ground different from the identical one down the road is the track. The pitch itself is hybrid grass, a mix of natural blades and polyethylene fibres. The irrigation system is built into the ground, popping up when the grass needs water.

The ground has hosted concerts that drew nearly 50,000 people, but on a Tuesday night it is usually just the national teams. The Iceland men’s and women’s sides play here. Breidablik uses it for European matches because the pitch is better than their own. The record attendance for a football match is 20,204, set when Iceland beat Italy in 2004. The stadium has never sold its name. It does not need to.