Teddy Stadium

Teddy Stadium (Hebrew: אצטדיון טדי ‎, Itztadion Teddy) is a football stadium in Jerusalem, Israel. Two football teams currently use the stadium - Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Jerusalem.

The stadium is named for long-time Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, who was in office during the time of its construction and was one of its prominent advocates.

For Beitar, the stadium was a major upgrade after years of playing at the YMCA Stadium, nicknamed "The Sandbox."In the first stage, only the west and east sides of the stadium were built, giving it a capacity of 13,000. In 1999, work was finished on a north side that increased capacity to 21,600.

The stadium itself is one of the newest in Israel and one of the few that is close to meeting all European standards. It is accessible to the disabled, has modern bathrooms, and has ample concession stands, a combination that is very difficult to find in many Israeli stadiums. The stadium has 5,000 parking spots on premises, and is connected to the Malha Mall and its parking facilities by a pedestrian bridge.

The stadium is located at the terminus of the Begin Expressway and just past the Malha Train Station, which ensures convenient road and rail access to the rest of the country.

With stands close to the pitch and excellent acoustics, Teddy Stadium has hosted several Israel national football team matches, the Maccabiah Games opening ceremony and other public events.

A south side stand of 12,000 seats is under construction which will increase the seating capacity to 33,500. The NIS100 million plan is the first phase of a project to accommodate 50,000.

Teddy stadium is planned to be one of four stadium which will host the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship including the final match.