Kiryat Eliezer Stadium

The Haifa Municipal Stadium (Etztadion HaIroni Haifa), more commonly known as Kiryat Eliezer, is a multi-use stadium in Haifa, Israel. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Haifa. It is hoped to be replaced by a new Haifa Stadium at the southern entrance to the city by 2012.

The stadium was built in 1955, as a gift from the Italian Labour Union. It seats 14,002 among its 14 gates. Ownership of the stadium belongs to the Municipality of Haifa, though it is managed by a suborganization called ETHOS. The stadium was opened on 24 September 1955 with a Haifa derby matc, Maccabi beating Hapoel 4-1. Both clubs had previously played at Kiryat Haim Stadium in the Kerayot area of Haifa.

The stadium does not meet UEFA’s highest standards forcing the clubs in Haifa to host their European matches in the Tel Aviv area. UEFA also has limited clubs from outside the Tel Aviv area from hosting even low level European qualifiers citing security concerns.

Kiryat Eliezer is the only stadium in Israel equipped with electronic gates in an effort to curb scalping and the sale of counterfeit tickets. Regulars to the stadium may purchase a card for 10 shekels, which can be refilled for specific matches held at the stadium.

There is only one scoreboard in the stadium, which does not have a replay screen. The only television in the stadium, outside of the television broadcast booth, is in front of the seat of Ya’akov Shahar, the owner of Maccabi Haifa. Only the A section of the stadium is covered by a roof.

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Hapoel Haifa FC official website
Maccabi Haifa FC official website
Kiryat Eliezer Stadium wikipedia entry
Israel Football Association

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