Sammy Ofer Stadium 5.37

The Sammy Ofer Stadium, also known as Haifa International Stadium, is a 30,870-seat multi-purpose stadium in Haifa, Israel. Construction began in late 2009 and was completed in 2014. The stadium was developed and built by the Haifa Economic Corporation, managed by Adv. Gal Peleg. Currently, the stadium is used mostly for football matches, hosting the home games of Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Haifa F.C. The stadium replaced Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, which was closed in 2014 and demolished in 2015. The stadium is named after the late Israeli naval-mogul Sammy Ofer, who donated $20,000,000 to build the stadium. Ofer's contribution was 19% of the total cost of the stadium.HistoryOn September 16, 2008, the Haifa Construction Committee approved the stadium's plans and gave it the green light.On August 2009, official plans of the stadium released.On September 2009, it has been announced that the works on building the foundations of the stadium would begin at the end of September 2009. The first official match ever at Sammy Ofer Stadium was played on August 27, 2014. Hapoel Haifa hosted Hapoel Acre (TOTO CUP) and won 2–0. The first historic goal in the new stadium was scored by Hapoel Haifa striker Tosaint Ricketts. The first league match was played on September 15, 2014. Maccabi Haifa hosted Bnei Sakhnin F.C., who they defeated by a score of 4–2. The historic first goal by a Maccabi Haifa player was scored by Israeli national team midfielder Hen Ezra during stoppage time of the first half. Over 31,000 supporters were in attendance. The first UEFA Champions League match was played on September 30, 2015 by Maccabi Tel Aviv against Dinamo Kiev, Dinamo won 2–0 by goles Andriy Yarmolenko and Júnior Moraes.