Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium (秩父宮ラグビー場, Chichibunomiya Ragubī-jō) (also called Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium) is a rugby union stadium located in the Aoyama district of central Tokyo, Japan. It is the spiritual home of Japanese rugby union and the headquarters of the Japan Rugby Football Union. Named for Prince Chichibu, the late brother of Emperor Hirohito, the venue is used mostly for rugby sevens and rugby union matches.
The stadium currently can accommodate 27,188 spectators, but only part of the stands are covered. A large electronic scoreboard was added to the grounds as a step toward modernization before the fifth Rugby World Cup in 2003.
On April 19, 2007, it was announced that the stadium was to be equipped with lights for night games by the end of July, to assist with the RWC 2015 bid. The first rugby game under lights was Japan v Asian Barbarians in August 2007, the send-off for Japan going to RWC 2007. Since then it has been used for the first Top League game of the 2007–8 season between Suntory Sungoliath and Toshiba Brave Lupus, also played under lights and won 10–3 by the former on October 26, 2008.
History
Originally completed in 1947, it was at first called Tokyo Rugby Stadium. In 1953 the name was changed to Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium. The stadium also served as a venue for football matches in the 1964 Summer Olympics.
The name Chichibunomiya commemorates the sporting prince, Prince Chichibu, who was not a rugby union player but was passionately fond of the sport and died in 1953. A statue of the prince in a rugby uniform was erected at the stadium.
On February 3, 2008, snow prevented two Top League games being played in the 13th and final round of the fifth season. They were postponed to February 9.
From 2012 through 2015, the stadium hosted the Japan Sevens, a newly created event on the circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams now known as the World Rugby Sevens Series. When inaugurated, the tournament was the seventh on the circuit schedule, and was held in late March/early April.[1] After the 2014–15 series, Japan was removed from the schedule in favor of a return to former series host Singapore.
In 2019, the Meiji Jingu Gaien, the Japan Sports Council, Mitsui Fudosan and Itochu Corp. groups agreed to redevelop both Meiji Jingu Stadium and the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium. Under the plans, Meiji Jingu Stadium will be demolished and rebuilt on the site of the rugby ground.[2] The replacement rugby stadium will be built on the current site of the Meiji Jingu Stadium Number 2 field. Officials have announced that the new stadium will have a roof over the field and stands.[3]
^ (Press release). International Rugby Board. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Olympics: Tokyo's iconic baseball, rugby fields set for redevelopment". Kyodo News. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
^"Officials choose dome for new Prince Chichibu rugby stadium". The Asahi Shimbun. 25 December 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
1964 Summer Olympics official report. 2010-07-07 at the Wayback Machine Volume 1. Part 1. p. 120.
, National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium.
March 01, 2023
chichibunomiya, rugby, stadium, 秩父宮ラグビー場, chichibunomiya, ragubī, also, called, prince, chichibu, memorial, stadium, rugby, union, stadium, located, aoyama, district, central, tokyo, japan, spiritual, home, japanese, rugby, union, headquarters, japan, rugby, f. Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium 秩父宮ラグビー場 Chichibunomiya Ragubi jō also called Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Aoyama district of central Tokyo Japan It is the spiritual home of Japanese rugby union and the headquarters of the Japan Rugby Football Union Named for Prince Chichibu the late brother of Emperor Hirohito the venue is used mostly for rugby sevens and rugby union matches Chichibunomiya Rugby StadiumFormer namesTokyo Rugby Stadium 1947 1953 LocationKitaaoyama Minato Tokyo JapanCoordinates35 40 21 37 N 139 43 5 41 E 35 6726028 N 139 7181694 E 35 6726028 139 7181694OwnerJapan Sport CouncilOperatorJapan Sport CouncilCapacity27 188SurfaceGrassConstructionOpened1947Renovated1973 2003TenantsNTT Communications Shining ArcsTokyo SungoliathSunwolves 2015 2020 Redevelopment plans call for the stadium and the adjacent Meiji Jingu Stadium used for baseball to be demolished and replaced with new facilities Contents 1 Facilities 2 History 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksFacilities EditThe stadium currently can accommodate 27 188 spectators but only part of the stands are covered A large electronic scoreboard was added to the grounds as a step toward modernization before the fifth Rugby World Cup in 2003 On April 19 2007 it was announced that the stadium was to be equipped with lights for night games by the end of July to assist with the RWC 2015 bid The first rugby game under lights was Japan v Asian Barbarians in August 2007 the send off for Japan going to RWC 2007 Since then it has been used for the first Top League game of the 2007 8 season between Suntory Sungoliath and Toshiba Brave Lupus also played under lights and won 10 3 by the former on October 26 2008 History EditOriginally completed in 1947 it was at first called Tokyo Rugby Stadium In 1953 the name was changed to Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium The stadium also served as a venue for football matches in the 1964 Summer Olympics The name Chichibunomiya commemorates the sporting prince Prince Chichibu who was not a rugby union player but was passionately fond of the sport and died in 1953 A statue of the prince in a rugby uniform was erected at the stadium On February 3 2008 snow prevented two Top League games being played in the 13th and final round of the fifth season They were postponed to February 9 From 2012 through 2015 the stadium hosted the Japan Sevens a newly created event on the circuit for men s national rugby sevens teams now known as the World Rugby Sevens Series When inaugurated the tournament was the seventh on the circuit schedule and was held in late March early April 1 After the 2014 15 series Japan was removed from the schedule in favor of a return to former series host Singapore From 2016 it has been used as the home ground for the Sunwolves Super Rugby team along with Singapore National Stadium In 2019 the Meiji Jingu Gaien the Japan Sports Council Mitsui Fudosan and Itochu Corp groups agreed to redevelop both Meiji Jingu Stadium and the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium Under the plans Meiji Jingu Stadium will be demolished and rebuilt on the site of the rugby ground 2 The replacement rugby stadium will be built on the current site of the Meiji Jingu Stadium Number 2 field Officials have announced that the new stadium will have a roof over the field and stands 3 See also EditKintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium Japan national rugby union team Sunwolves Super Rugby Team Top LeagueReferences Edit Japan joins expanded HSBC Sevens World Series Press release International Rugby Board 18 August 2011 Archived from the original on 27 September 2011 Retrieved 29 August 2011 a href Template Cite press release html title Template Cite press release cite press release a CS1 maint unfit URL link Olympics Tokyo s iconic baseball rugby fields set for redevelopment Kyodo News 28 February 2019 Retrieved 8 May 2020 Officials choose dome for new Prince Chichibu rugby stadium The Asahi Shimbun 25 December 2020 Retrieved 18 May 2021 1964 Summer Olympics official report Archived 2010 07 07 at the Wayback Machine Volume 1 Part 1 p 120 秩父宮ラグビー場 National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and HealthExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium amp oldid 1082836262, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
