# Netanya Stadium

Miriam Stadium (Hebrew: אצטדיון מרים), commonly known as The Diamond Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Netanya, Israel. It is used as the permanent home ground of Maccabi Netanya, and it has been used as the temporary homeground of Hapoel Hadera. The stadium also serves the Israel national football team for some select home matches, as well as the main home ground of the Israel national under-19 football team as of 2021.

## History

On 30 September 2003 Minister of Internal Affairs Avraham Poraz approved the plan to build the stadium in an area called Birkat Hanoun. The plan was for a 24,000-seat stadium, consisting of four separate stands. The first two stands under construction will be the main east and west grandstands. It will house 36 private boxes, a VIP section and the press areas. This will be followed by construction of the remaining stands, along with training grounds.
Spread out over 163 dunams (16.3 hectares), the entire complex was planned to be connected by train and have a parking lot for around 1,000 cars. The architects of the stadium were from GAB (Goldschmidt Arditty Ben Nayin) Architects, one of Israel's leading sport architecture firms based in Jerusalem. Construction was managed by the Netanya Development Company, who handled planning of the project for three years before construction.
The bid for construction run by the Netanya Municipality was won by the company "Ramet", who also built the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. Construction began in 2005. The planned construction completion date was August 2008, but failure to meet scheduling changed the expected opening to March 2009. In 2009, financial disputes emerged between the municipality and the company Ramet, which resulted in the construction being halted. Eventually, Ramet left the project and the work was continued by the company "A. Dori", which was selected in a new bid.
The Sports Betting Council invested approximately 30 million shekels in the construction of the stadium, with the remaining funding coming from the sale of the land of the Sar-Tov Stadium, which was demolished and replaced with residential buildings.
The stadium officially opened on October 30, 2012. The first game was played on November 4, 2012, in front of a sold-out crowd as Maccabi Netanya defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 2–1. Netanya's Ahmad Saba'a became the first player to score a goal in the new stadium. The stadium hosted the 2012–13 Israel State Cup finals in front of 8,621 people. A week later the Youth State Cup finals were held in the stadium in front of 4,600 people.
It was one of four venues for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, holding three group matches and a semi-final. It was also one of four stadiums to host the 2015 UEFA European women's under-19 Football Championship and the final of the tournament.
The stadium played host to two open day and the championship game of the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship.
The first friendly match of the Israel national football team was played on February 6, 2013. Israel hosted the Finland national football team and won the match by a score of 2–1.

## Average attendance

| Team | Average Attendance | Season |
| Maccabi Netanya | 5,046 | 2012–13 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 3,742 | 2013–14 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 5,978 | 2014–15 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 4,705 | 2015–16 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 2,890 | 2016–17 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 7,390 | 2017–18 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 5,836 | 2018–19 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 5,614 | 2019–20 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 1,412 (due to COVID-19) | 2020–21 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 6,993 | 2021–22 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 7,013 | 2022–23 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 6,074 | 2023–24 |

## International matches

| Date | | Result | | Competition | Attendance |
| 6 February 2013 | Israel | 2-1 | Finland | Friendly | 6,150 |
| 5 March 2014 | Israel | 1-3 | Slovakia | Friendly | 7,200 |
| 6 June 2017 | Israel | 1-1 | Moldova | Friendly | 5,000 |
| 24 March 2018 | Israel | 1-2 | Romania | Friendly | 7,925 |
| 15 November 2018 | Israel | 7-0 | Guatemala | Friendly | 5,900 |
| 7 September 2020 | Israel | 1-1 | Slovakia | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League | 0 |
| 18 November 2020 | Israel | 1-0 | Scotland | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League | 0 |
| 15 November 2021 | Israel | 3-2 | Faroe Islands | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | 6,800 |
| 29 March 2022 | Israel | 2-2 | Romania | Friendly | 6,970 |