10 December 2018
It was in 1902 that the Young Boys played for the first time in on their pitch. The "Spitalacker" field as it was known, commonly called "Spitteler", where the team won their first ever league title in 1903, before winning the treble between 1909-1911. After the First World War, the stadium was repaired in 1920 with the addition of a new grandstand.
However, in 1925, the team has moved to a new structure, the "Wankdorfstadion I": a modern stadium, with 22,000 spectators, which in 1937 increased to 40,000. Young Boys won the title again here in 1929 and the Swiss Cup twice, but also experienced a relegation in 1947.
REBUILD FOR THE WORLD CUP
In 1954, the World Cup was held in Switzerland and the stadium was rebuilt as the new "Wankdorfstadion II" stadium for the occasion. The stadium saw its record attendance in 1959, when Young Boys played in the European Cup semi-final against Stade de Reims, in front of 63,000 fans.
The team played here until 2001, winning the Swiss league five times, taking their total to 11 titles. In addition to three Swiss Cup victories, A Swiss Super Cup and Swiss League Cup. The last game held at the stadium was on 7 June 2001, a 1-1 draw against Lugano.
During the construction of the Stade de Suisse, Young Boys played temporarily at the Neufeldstadion.
2005: THE STADE DE SUISSE
Young Boys played their first game at the Stade de Suisse on 16 July 2005, a European qualifying matching between YB and Marseille.
Whilst a few days later, on 31 July it hosted a mini-tournament with Stuttgart and Udinese to declare the stadium officially open. Young Boys returned to winning ways in their new ground, after two relegations and as many promotions, the title finally returned to Bern in 2018, with Young Boys qualifying for its first Champions League.
The stadium's current capacity is 31,120 spectators, and is a multi-purpose structure, designed Architects Luscher Architectes SA, Lausanne, and Schwaar & Partner AG, Bern with the overall cost standing at 350 million Swiss francs.
(data & historic photos: www.bscyb.ch)
