The Abbasiyyin Stadium (Arabic: مَلْعَب ٱلْعَبَّاسِيِّين, romanized: Malʿab al-ʿAbbāsīyīn) is a multi-use all-seater stadium in Damascus, Syria, that is currently out of use. It mostly hosted football matches and served as the home venue of the Syrian national team in the past. The stadium which was built in 1976 was lastly able to hold up to 30,000 spectators, being the 4th largest stadium in Syria.[citation needed]
The stadium was originally opened in 1957 with a capacity of 10,000 spectators, to host football matches and local athletics events.[citation needed]
On the occasion of the 5th Pan Arab Gamesin1976,[2] the stadium was renovated and the capacity was expanded up to 40,000 spectators. However, after the most recent renovation in 2011, Abbasiyyin Stadium was turned into an all-seater stadium and the capacity was reduced to 30,000 seats.[3]
On 6 May 2001, Mass was celebrated by Pope John Paul II in the Abbasiyyin Stadium.[4]
The stadium remains unuasable since 2013 with the local media reporting, that it was used as a military training site during the Syrian civil war and heavily damaged by bombs.[5] There were plans to begin demolishing it in 2018.[6] But they were retracted.[7]
^"قرار بهدم ملعب العباسيين في دمشق" [A decision to demolish the Abbasiyyin Stadium in Damascus]. Enab Baladi (in Arabic). 17 March 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
