Noevir Stadium Kobe

Noevir Stadium Kobe sits in Hyogo-ku. The playing surface is natural grass, and the long white flagpoles stand in the plaza outside the main entrance. Advertisements for Rakin Bank line the upper tiers inside, while the seats in one stand go yellow and the others stay blue and grey.

It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Temporary seating was removed and a retractable roof was installed, which brought the capacity in from 42,000 to the present 30,132. The ground has seen the usual rhythm of the J1 League. The clean-sheet run came to an end here on a wet afternoon, and the visitors got their substitutions spot on to pull off a win. The captains dragged the teams through the second half, and the away manager changed shape at the break when the home side were reduced to ten men. It is not a place where the game slows down; the tempo rises quickly when a side needs to.

It also hosted four group matches during the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and the pitch has seen concerts too. The attendance record of 38,133 remains a figure that sits outside the current capacity, so it is best left alone. The stadium has carried different names through the years, but the structure itself has stayed the same.