Rajamangala Stadium

The **Rajamangala National Stadium** (Thai: ราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน; RTGS: Ratchamangkhala Kila Sathan, pronounced [râːt.t͡ɕʰā.māŋ.kʰā.lāː kīː.lāː sā.tʰǎːn]) is the national stadium of Thailand. It is part of the Hua Mak Sports Complex, and is located in Hua Mak Subdistrict, Bang Kapi, Bangkok. It officially opened on 6 December 1998.

It was first used for the 1998 Asian Games in 1998 and 1999 ASEAN University Games in 1999. Since then, it has been used for many international matches and football tournaments. Most notably, for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Thai club sides have also used the stadium when playing in continental cup competitions. Krung Thai Bank FC (now BG Pathum United) used it for AFC Champions League matches, and PEA FC and Chonburi FC have recently used it in the AFC Cup. Aside from football, it has been used for athletics, pop concerts, and political rallies.

Rajamangala Stadium was designed by the Faculty of Architecture at Chulalongkorn University. The main material used in construction was concrete and therefore, though the stadium is impressive and imposing, it could never be described as beautiful. However, it is undoubtedly dramatic. The stands rise and fall like a giant, exaggerated version of Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium. At each end are quite narrow tiers of seats but the tiers rise and rise as they move around the sides until they peak at level with the halfway line. From an aesthetic point of view, the stadium is best viewed from a distance, preferably from the air, where the elliptical shape of the side tribunes seems particularly pronounced.

The aforementioned side tribunes are designated 'East' and 'West'. 'East' is the uncovered popular side; 'West' is the covered side where the more expensive seats are. The two ends are designated 'North' and 'South'. 'North' is the more popular of the two. It's where the more vocal and colorful elements of the Thai support congregate.

The capacity of the stadium is 65,000. When the stadium first opened the capacity was 80,000. But plastic seats were installed on the North, South, and East sides, where previously there had been bare concrete steps, in readiness for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.

The stadium is not served by public transport which has always been a source of frustration for fans. Presently, there are no train stations anywhere near the stadium (unlike at the National Stadium, which is served by the Skytrain - National Stadium BTS station). However, there are buses and taxis which pass fairly close to the stadium. From 2027, the stadium will be served by the MRT Orange Line.

The stadium hosted the 2012 Race of Champions.

On 24 November 2013, a crowd estimated at 100,000 joined the rally around Bangkok's Democracy Monument in an anti-government protest, according to the Democrat Party, as pro-government red shirts gathered at Rajamangala Sports Stadium.

On 16 September 2019 Sports Authority of Thailand has been closed for renovation to be used as one of the stadiums for 2020 AFC U-23 Championship, which Thailand hosted in January 2020 to select 3 teams to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

On 12 July 2022, Rajamangala Stadium held the world-class football match for teams in the Premier League named "The MATCH Final Bangkok Century Cup 2022" between Manchester United vs. Liverpool, with improvements of the field and stadium to support the competition.

Other stadiums in Bangkok include the Thai Army Sports Stadium, the Thai-Japanese Stadium, and Chulalongkorn University Stadium.

The stadium has hosted several international FIFA matches.