De Kuip / The Feijenoord Stadium

by Evert Buitendijk

stadion van Feijenoord, popularly known as De Kuip, is a football stadium in Rotterdam-Zuid (IJsselmonde). It is a stadium with football history where the professional football organisation Feijenoord plays its home matches. The driving force behind its construction was Feijenoord chairman Leen van Zandvliet, after whom the adjacent square is also named. The stadium was designed by architect Leendert van der Vlugt, of Brinkman and Van der Vlugt architecture firm. Construction started in 1935; the opening was on 27 March 1937. Van der Vlugt died in 1936 and thus did not witness the opening. The name of the stadium is spelt in different ways. The owner of the stadium is registered as 'stadion van Feijenoord N.V.' (with ij) in the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce.[2] This spelling is also used on the stadium's website. In contrast, y is used in the Rotterdam City Archive, on letterhead and above the entrance on the Olympia side (see picture opposite), among others: stadion van Feijenoord.