Osaka Stadium
Osaka Stadium (大阪球場, owned by Osaka Stadium Corporation (大阪スダヂアム興業株式会社)) was a stadium located in Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan. The stadium opened in 1950, with a capacity of 32,000 people. It was built over the site of a red-brick tobacco plant which was destroyed during the bombing of Osaka during World War II. The stadium was torn down in 1998 and was entirely replaced by the office and shopping complex of Namba Parks in several stages, with final construction ending in April 2007.
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| Location | Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan |
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| Owner | Osaka Stadium Corporation |
| Capacity | 31,379 |
| Field size | Left and Right Field – 91.5 m Left and Right Center – 109.7 m Center Field – 115.8 m Backstop – 18.3 m |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | January 9, 1950 |
| Built | January 1950 |
| Opened | September 12, 1950 |
| Closed | November 1998 |
| Demolished | 2000 |
| Architect | Junzo Sakakura |
| Tenants | |
| Nankai Hawks (1950–1988) Kintetsu Pearls (1950–1957) Yosho Robbins (1953–1954) | |
It was primarily used for baseball and was home of the Nankai Hawks until they moved to the Heiwadai Stadium in Fukuoka (subsequently becoming the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, and are now the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks) in 1988.
Madonna kicked off her Who's That Girl World Tour at the stadium with two sold-out concerts taking place on June 14 and 15, 1987. These were Madonna's first concerts in Japan.
Michael Jackson concluded the 1st leg of his Bad World Tour at the stadium, with three consecutive sold-out shows, on October 10–12, 1987.
Gallery
- Osaka stadium in 1985 from air, taken by MLIT.
Osaka stadium in 1988, (Taken from the right field)
Scoreboard and backstand from the left field in 1989.
References