The 'New Face of the City' I Saw for the First Time—Reflections on Peace Stadium Before Its Opening

The 'Stadium of Adventure' series, part 2.
Last time, I introduced the 'magic of design' that makes it fun even without watching a game.
This time, I will look back on my experience of visiting Stadium City for the first time.

Can you enter the stadium before it opens? ...I'm going!
I joined the walking event

Stadium City's grand opening is October 14, 2024.
But before that, there was an event held where the general public could enter.

That was
'JR Kyushu Autumn Walking: Just Before Opening! Nagasaki Stadium City Tour Walk'

A walking event that JR Kyushu plans every autumn.
Last year, it collaborated with Stadium City,
and it was an event where you could 'walk around inside Stadium City specially before it opened.'
The area around Nagasaki Station is undergoing a redevelopment said to be once in a century. 'Walk from the station yourself and feel how good the access is!' That was the
stylish arrangement by JR Kyushu x Stadium City.

There was already a long line.
The whole city was buzzing with the excitement of the 'eve of the opening'!

The event was held on Saturday, October 5, 2024.
Registration was from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

I arrived at Nagasaki Station for registration around 9:30 AM, and there was already a long line!
People of all ages were already lined up with excited faces.
I had to laugh at how much attention it was getting, haha.
But I get it. You want to see it before it opens!

Considering the congestion inside Stadium City, we departed gradually in small groups.
There were so many people that the road to Stadium City was packed. It was more of a huge procession than a walk.
Locals were even asking, 'What's happening today?' haha.
Since there were intersections along the way, the event staff worked hard to call out and manage traffic to prevent accidents. I'm grateful for that.

'Wow...!' The appearance of the stadium that lived up to the concept art

As I got closer and closer to Stadium City, I started to hear cheers of 'Wow! ✨' and 'Amazing!' which got me excited.
When I crossed the last intersection and saw the stadium, I was truly surprised.

Wait...! The level of completion is exactly as shown in the concept art!!!

I had heard that material costs had skyrocketed due to recent inflation, and construction costs had soared—
(Initially planned for 50 billion yen → actually 100 billion yen!)
And yet, they didn't compromise at all and stuck to the design?! I was amazed.
At this point, I could already feel Japanet's 'seriousness'.
I have to wave a white flag and admit defeat at the level of enthusiasm, which felt like they had brought their 'Profit Return Festival' to life for the locals. I'll buy my next home appliance from you...!

—I haven't even entered yet, and I can't stop the excitement.

I finally got in! I can't stop the excitement.

Apparently there was a stamp rally, but there were too many people, so I gave up on that and decided to fully enjoy the tour.

The overlapping roof and the design that intentionally "shows off" the rugged structure—I love it!

A design that's easy to see from anywhere! The turf is so close!
If you lose focus during a match, you might get hit by a ball!

The angle of the seats is good, and the regular seats are comfortable to sit in too!
The VIP seats are wonderful, with a plushness like the reserved seats on a JR Kyushu limited express train!

I was also able to enter the food court. It's way too stylish. Of course, you can see the pitch from here too.

The tour route was fixed, but everyone was enjoying themselves here and there, sitting in seats or relaxing on sofa seats, with happy cheers everywhere.
All the participants are smiling.

I mean, is this really Nagasaki...? Is it a dream?

Looking back, there's Mount Inasa, just as it always is.
Ah, it was Nagasaki. It wasn't a dream!

I see, that's why they were so particular about it being "soccer-specific"!

I'm not a hardcore soccer fan... I'm more of a casual supporter.

I have been to watch soccer matches before.
Transcosmos Stadium in Isahaya City is open and beautiful, and personally, I like it very much.

But seeing the new stadium, I realized something.

“Ah! So this is the view the stakeholders wanted us to see when they insisted on a ‘soccer-specific’ stadium!”

So the ‘behind-the-goal’ seats are actually the best seats in the house!

When I first went to cheer for a soccer match, I found it strange.
I wondered why the most passionate supporters were seated ‘behind the goal.’

For someone like me who only follows soccer casually, it’s easier to understand the game when looking at the pitch from the side.

I thought that those who provide such passionate support from ‘behind the goal’ would want to see the flow of the game clearly, and I wondered if it wasn’t hard to see in a track-and-field stadium with the track right in front and the vertical orientation...
I just assumed it was because it was convenient for waving big flags, and left it at that.

And then,

seeing this new stadium, I understood.
In a soccer-specific stadium, the ‘behind-the-goal’ seats are indeed the best seats.

The stadium looks cool from the Urakami River!

Perhaps because there were more participants than expected, the original walking route of ‘Nagasaki Station → Stadium City → Nagasaki Station’ seemed to be changed midway, and we were allowed to leave early, haha.
It was just that crowded.

But!
I had never really walked along the Urakami River before!
So I walked the entire walking route properly!

The stadium looks cool from across the river, too.

The building gives a different impression from the main road side compared to the Urakami River side.
I like the stadium as seen from the Urakami River; the rhythm of the structure is great.

The excitement of a first visit becomes a motivation to watch a match.

I recall that the tenants weren't open yet at the time,
but it was still a very satisfying first visit. I bragged about it to everyone around me right after participating, haha.

I’ve lived a life far removed from sports, but I found myself thinking, ‘I want to watch a match in this stadium.’

By the way, my mother seemed to feel the same way, so we went to watch a match together, haha.
I plan to write about my first match experience in the fourth part of this series.

Next time: Stadium Tour

Well, this time I mainly shared the excitement of my first visit.
Next time, I’ll dive deeper inside! I plan to write a report on when I participated in the stadium tour.