Thống Nhất Stadium (), formerly Cộng Hoà Stadium () is the second-largest multi-purpose stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, and the oldest in Vietnam. It is located on 138 Đào Duy Từ Street, Diên Hồng.

The stadium is primarily used for football matches and is the home stadium of the Cong An Ho Chi Minh City FC of the V.League 1. The stadium has a capacity of 14,400.

History

Early years In 1929, the Municipal Commission decided to build a new stadium in the city. The stadium was named the Renault Field after the city commission's chairman at the time - Philippe Oreste Renault. The stadium was opened on October 18, 1931 following an inaugural football match between Cho Lon Police and Gia Dinh Stars with the Cho Lon side taking a 1-0 win. In its early day, the stadium only consisted of one 20-step spectators' stand, which was covered by a reinforced cement roof.

1955 – 1975 From 1959 to October 1960, new stands and a lighting system were added to the stadium while the main stand was expanded. This expansion increased the capacity of the stadium to 30,000 people. The stadium was then also renamed to Cộng Hòa Stadium (Vietnamese: Vận động trường Thống Nhất; ). It was renovated again in 1967.

Between 1955 and 1975, the site had witnessed a number of major sporting events including an over-capacity 30,000 strong crowd to watch the elimination football match between South Vietnam and South Korea leading up to the 1964 Summer Olympics.South Korean International Matches The Merdeka Cup gold trophy, won by South Vietnam in 1966, was kept at the stadium. Its whereabouts are not known after the Fall of Saigon.

During the Vietnam War, the stadium was also the scene of terror attacks by the Viet Cong. Explosives which detonated on October 4, 1965 killed 11 and injured 42 others.

Post-1975 On September 2, 1975, the stadium was renamed Thống Nhất Stadium ("Reunification Stadium") after a football match between Hải Quan F.C. and Ngân Hàng F.C. took place.

The stadium has been the home stadium to Hồ Chí Minh City F.C. (formerly known as Saigon Port F.C.) since the club's formation in 1975. Between 1995 and 2002, it was also the home ground to Hồ Chí Minh City Police F.C.

In 2002, renovation was done to prepare the stadium to host Group B men's football matches at the 2003 Southeast Asian Games. It was usually home to Vietnam national football team alongside Hàng Đẫy Stadium in Hanoi until 2003 when Mỹ Đình National Stadium was completed.

In 2016, Sài Gòn F.C. selected Thong Nhat as the home stadium for their first season in V.League 1.

Until 2017, the stadium has a capacity of 19,450 people. Since then, the stadium has been renovated in phases. In the first phase, the A1 and A2 sections of the main stand were repainted and a new 1500-lux floodlight system was installed in the last quarter of 2017. In 2018, the playing field was redone and more than 6,700 seats were added to the B, C and D stands. This reduced the capacity of the stadium to approximately 15,000 people. In 2019, existing seats in stand A will be replaced while new seats will be added to the east and west wings of the stand (A4 and A5).

To prepare for the 2026 Vietnam National Games, grandstand B will be completely renovated, which will add 4,500 seats and bring the total capacity of the stadium to 19,000. The renovation is expected to cost 149 billion VND (US$6.1 million).

Usage The stadium has hosted various domestic and international sporting and entertainment events throughout its history. Some of the most events are listed below Football 1964 AFC Youth Championship 1998 AFF Championship 2003 Southeast Asian Games (men's football) 2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup 2010 AFF U-19 Youth Championship 2011 AFC U-19 Women's Championship 2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship 2012 AFF Women's Championship 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup 2015 AFF Women's Championship Athletics 2016 Asian Junior Athletics Championships

Concerts The Wild Dreams Tour (Westlife)

International football matches DateCompetitionTeam 1Res.Team 229 January 19991999 Dunhill Cup1–029 January 19992–030 January 19991–131 January 19992–131 January 19991–031 January 19995–01 February 19993–01 February 19992–12 February 19991–12 February 19992–23 February 19991–53 February 19997–15 February 19991999 Dunhill Cup semi-finals1–45 February 19992–07 February 19991999 Dunhill Cup final0–123 January 20002000 AFC Asian Cup qualification11–026 January 20003–029 January 20000–220 August 20042004 LG Cup5–022 August 20042–124 August 20042–18 September 20042006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round1–27 December 20042004 AFF Championship0–67 December 20041–19 December 20049–19 December 20040–01 October 20082008 Ho Chi Minh City Cup2–33 October 20081–25 October 20082–320 October 2009 2009 Ho Chi Minh City Cup1–022 October 2009 4–224 October 20092–229 June 2011Friendly6–023 June 2012Friendly1–024 October 20122012 VFF Cup0–126 October 2012 4–028 October 20124–26 October 2015Friendly5–213 June 20172019 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round0–01 June 2022Friendly2–021 September 20222022 VFF Tri-Nations Series4–024 September 2022 1–127 September 20223–014 October 20252027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round 0–1

Notes

External links StadiumDB images

References