Toyota Stadium

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Lore & Background

Built in 2001, Toyota Stadium was designed as a football-specific venue, giving matches an authentic football aura. Its roof is unique in that it folds much like an accordion; however, the roof has never been closed since 2015 due to extra costs for maintenance. The stadium has hosted the FIFA Club World Cup (formerly the Toyota Cup) and was a venue for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the first Rugby World Cup held in Asia. During that tournament, the stadium was referred to as 'City of Toyota Stadium' due to concerns under ambush marketing rules that the stadium's name could be interpreted as naming rights by car manufacturer Toyota—while the city is named after the company due to it being the location of its headquarters, Toyota does not sponsor the stadium.

In Their Own Story

The stadium opened in 2001, built for football and rugby. Nagoya Grampus made it their home in the J1 League, while Toyota Verblitz of the Japan Rugby League One also took the pitch here. For the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the venue was temporarily renamed 'City of Toyota Stadium' to avoid any suggestion that carmaker Toyota held naming rights—even though the city itself shares the company's name. The roof, which folds like an accordion, has not been closed since 2015, a quiet reminder of the costs of maintenance. Yet the stadium remains a key site for international club football, hosting the FIFA Club World Cup.

Reader's Guide

Toyota Stadium is located in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is a football-specific stadium with a retractable roof. The primary tenants are Nagoya Grampus (J1 League) and Toyota Verblitz (Japan Rugby League One). The stadium was built in 2001. It has hosted the FIFA Club World Cup and the 2019 Rugby World Cup. During the Rugby World Cup, it was called 'City of Toyota Stadium' to avoid ambush marketing issues—Toyota the company does not sponsor the stadium, though the city is named after the company. The roof has not been closed since 2015 due to extra maintenance costs. The stadium is one of the venues for the FIFA Club World Cup, formerly known as the Toyota Cup.

Did You Know?

• The roof folds much like an accordion but has not been closed since 2015 due to extra maintenance costs.
• During the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the stadium was called 'City of Toyota Stadium' to avoid ambush marketing issues—Toyota does not sponsor the stadium.
• The stadium is one of the venues for the FIFA Club World Cup, formerly known as the Toyota Cup.
• It is used by both Nagoya Grampus (J1 League) and Toyota Verblitz (Japan Rugby League One).
• The city of Toyota is named after the car company, which has its headquarters there, but the company does not sponsor the stadium.