Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium

The Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium (STAR, Malay: Stadium Tuanku Abdul Rahman), also known by its informal name Stadium Paroi or Paroi Stadium and sobriquet The STAR of Paroi, is a multi-purpose stadium in Paroi, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. Inaugurated on 23 April 1992, the stadium initially held a capacity of 20,000 people. The capacity has been upgraded to 45,000 people for the 2004 Sukma Games, effectively making it the largest stadium in Peninsular Malaysia's southern region, and third largest nationwide. It is currently home to the Malaysia Super League club Negeri Sembilan FC. The stadium is named in honour of Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad, the eighth Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan and the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia. During the third round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Syria national football team played two of its home matches at the stadium, due to the Syrian Civil War. History Backgrounds Before 1992, Negeri Sembilan FA played football matches in Seremban Municipal Stadium. Following the appointment of the new Menteri Besar, Mohd Isa Abdul Samad on 29 April 1982, he decided to build a new sports complex in Paroi as part of a plan to modernize Negeri Sembilan. The old site of the stadium was a military camp and an airstrip for the 2 Flight Army Air Corp. The military camp was built during the height of the Malayan Emergency to provide air cover for the jungle operation. The military camp and airstrip were demolished in the 1990s to build the new state stadium for Negeri Sembilan. Openings and later refurbishments The stadium finally opened on 11 April 1992, with a final match of the 1992 Piala Emas Raja-Raja between the Negeri Sembilan Malays Football Association and Terengganu Malays Football Association, which the home side won 2–1 with Lim Teong Kim and Yeo Swee Hock putting their names on the scoresheet. The stadium officially opened on 23 April 1992, when Tuanku Ja’afar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman declared it open by himself during the opening day of the Negeri Sembilan Athletics School Championship at 3 p.m. The cost of the new multi-purpose stadium was around RM15 million. In 2004, Negeri Sembilan became the host of the 2004 Sukma Games. Major renovation and construction took place in this area, especially the stadium. The capacity of the stadium had been upgraded to 45,000 people for this event. The stadium has been used for athletic and football events. On 29 May 2004, the opening ceremony took place. The Negeri Sembilan football squad has lived up to their favourites in the Sukma by winning the men's football gold medal, defeating Johore 1–0 in the final match on 5 June 2004. The closing ceremony happened on 6 June 2004. Facilities The Paroi Stadium currently has a capacity of around 45,000. Most of the seats in the stadium are yellow and red plastic chairs, a significant upgrade from the reinforced concrete stadium seating for most of the stands, and the orange chairs at the grandstand. The upper level of the stadium's eastern stand retains the traditional concrete seating. Outside the stadium, there are many food stalls and hawkers, such as Popia Kuala Kangsar, Mee Kari Stadium, Selera Pinggiran, and Dilz Chicken. There are many parking lots at the stadium, which are usually used for the farmer's market on Sunday morning and the Ramadan bazaar. International fixtures See also Sport in Malaysia List of stadiums in Malaysia References External links https://web.archive.org/web/20140327083902/http://www.worldstadiums.com/asia/countries/malaysia.shtml "Stadium Tuanku Abdul Rahman". Virtual Malaysia. Retrieved 20 March 2011.