Japanese J-League Division 2 (J2) side Montedio Yamagata are all set for a move to a new stadium.

Mieko Yoshimura, Governor of Yamagata Prefecture, said that a 4-hectare parking lot in Tendo city will be provided for the new venue.

The proposed site is owned by the prefecture and is located adjacent to the football club’s current home, ND Soft Stadium, and has parking spaces for 5,000 cars. 

The proposed new stadium will have a capacity of 20,000 and will have roofs over all seats to meet the J-League stadium criteria. 

The new stadium will also have specific features designed to cope with the extreme winter weather of Japan’s north-east regions. 

The construction cost is estimated at approximately JPY 10 billion (£61.8m/€74.3m/$80.7m) and the new facility is scheduled to open in 2025.

Prior to the governor agreeing to provide the land for the new stadium development, Nobuharu Yamamoto, the Mayor of Tendo city, and club president Kentaro Aita, visited the Governor’s office and presented their plans to secure enough alternative spaces for parking, according to the local Kahoku Shimpo newspaper.

The paper reported that the Governor Yoshimura responded to the Tendo mayor:

After listening to and carefully assessing the Tendo mayor’s plans, we, as the prefecture owning the proposed land, would like to fully cooperate with the city and football club for the use of the site.

Aita who spoke to the media after the meeting with the governor, said:

There have been so many people who worked really hard to make this happen, and we are extremely pleased that the governor has agreed with our plans. We hope to develop a modern stadium of which all Yamagata residents can be proud. We would also love to see visitors from all over Japan to come and enjoy our new stadium.

Montedio’s current home ground, ND Soft Stadium, was first opened in 1991 before a major redevelopment was carried out in 1995. 

The athletic ground has a capacity of 21,292 and has hosted J-League Division 1 (J1) matches when the team was playing in the top-flight between 2009 and 2011, and in 2015, but has had to be upgraded numerous times because of the damages caused by Yamagata’s extreme winter weather as well as aging which prompted the club and the league calling for development of a more modern and purpose-built football stadium.

Image of ND Soft Stadium by Waka77

Article provided by The Stadium Hub

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