Stadium of Light

The name comes from underground.

That last part has held up longer than anyone expected. Construction began in May 1996, and through the build the ground was referred to informally as Wearside Stadium or New Roker Park . Neither stuck, and neither did any of the naming-rights talks that followed: the club looked at selling the name in 2010 under Niall Quinn and again in 2018 under Stewart Donald, and both times things came to a head without a deal. Nearly three decades on, the sign still reads Stadium of Light.

Prince Andrew, Duke of York, opened it on 30 July 1997; Status Quo played, and Ajax provided the opposition for the first match the following night. It held 42,000 then. The North Stand extension of 2000 — roughly £7m — took it to 49,000, and that is where the ground has stayed. The attendance record, though, dates from before the seats filled out: 48,353 watched Liverpool win 1-0 on 13 April 2002.

England's Lionesses have used it since, beating Austria 1-0 in World Cup qualifying in 2021 and Scotland 2-1 in the Nations League in 2023. The larger crowd figure belongs to music: 60,000 for Ed Sheeran on 3 June 2022, ahead of Oasis, Beyoncé and Foo Fighters.