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| Full name | Toyota Stadium |
|---|---|
| Former names | Vodacom Park |
| Location | Kings Way,Bloemfontein,South Africa |
| Coordinates | 29°7′2″S26°12′32″E / 29.11722°S 26.20889°E /-29.11722; 26.20889 |
| Public transit | Bloemfontein railway station |
| Operator | Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality |
| Executive suites | 100[4] |
| Capacity | 42,000[3] |
| Field size | 100 by 70 metres (330 ft × 230 ft) |
| Surface | Ryegrass[2] |
| Scoreboard | yes |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1955[1] |
| Renovated | 1995 |
| Expanded | 2009 |
| Tenants | |
| Cheetahs Free State Cheetahs | |
TheFree State Stadium (Afrikaans:Vrystaatstadion), currently known as theToyota Stadium for sponsorship reasons and formerly known asVodacom Park, is a stadium inBloemfontein in theFree State ofSouth Africa, used mainly forrugby union and also sometimes forassociation football. It was originally built for the1995 Rugby World Cup, and was one of the venues for the2010 FIFA World Cup.
The primary rugby union tenants of the facility are theFree State Cheetahs, which participate in South Africa's domestic competition, theCurrie Cup. Previously, theCheetahs represented theFree State andNorthern Cape provinces in the internationalPro14 competition.
Until their sale before the start of the2021–22 South African Premiership, the primary association football tenant wasBloemfontein Celtic, who played in South Africa's domesticSouth African Premiership.
The stadium was one of the host venues for the1995 Rugby World Cup. It hosted first-round matches in Pool C during the tournament.
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May 1995 |  Japan | 10–57 |  Wales | Group C | 12,000 |
| 31 May 1995 |  Ireland | 50–28 | Japan | 15,000 | |
| 4 June 19951 | Japan | 17–145 |  New Zealand | 17,000 |
The Free State Stadium was one of venues used for the1996 African Cup of Nations. It hosted six group matches and a quarter-final match:
| Date | Time (SAST) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 January 1996 |  Zambia | 0–0 |  Algeria | Group B | 9,000 | |
| 15 January 1996 |  Sierra Leone | 2–1 |  Burkina Faso | 1,500 | ||
| 18 January 1996 | Algeria | 2–0 | Sierra Leone | 1,500 | ||
| 20 January 1996 | Zambia | 5–1 | Burkina Faso | 2,000 | ||
| 24 January 1996 | 4–0 | Sierra Leone | 200 | |||
| 25 January 1996 |  Ghana | 2–0 |  Mozambique | Group D | 3,500 | |
| 27 January 1996 | Zambia | 3–1 |  Egypt | Quarter-finals | 8,500 |
The Free State Stadium was one of the host venues for the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
| Date | Time (SAST) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 June 2009 | 16:00 |  Brazil | 4–3 | Egypt | Group B | 27,851 |
| 17 June 2009 | 16:00 |  Spain | 1–0 |  Iraq | Group A | 30,512 |
| 20 June 2009 | 20:30 | 2–0 |  South Africa | 38,212 | ||
| 24 June 2009 | 0–2 |  United States | Semi-finals | 35,369 |
Ahead of the2010 FIFA World Cup, a second tier was added to the main grandstand on the western side of the ground, increasing the net capacity from 36,538[5] to 40,911. Additionally, new turnstiles were created, the floodlights upgraded, electronic scoreboards installed, the sound system revamped to the required standards, andCCTV and media facilities improved.
Bloemfontein received R221 million to upgrade the stadium. Though cost estimates were at R245 million, the city decided to stand in for the R24m shortfall.[6] Tenders were advertised in February and March 2007. Upgrade work started in July 2007.[7]
| Date | Time (SAST) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 June 2010 | 16.00 |  Japan | 1–0 |  Cameroon | Group E | 30,620 |
| 17 June 2010 | 16.00 |  Greece | 2–1 |  Nigeria | Group B | 31,593 |
| 20 June 2010 | 13.30 |  Slovakia | 0–2 |  Paraguay | Group F | 26,643 |
| 22 June 2010 | 16.00 |  France | 1–2 | South Africa | Group A | 39,415 |
| 25 June 2010 | 20.30 |  Switzerland | 0–0 |  Honduras | Group H | 28,042 |
| 27 June 2010 | 16.00 |  Germany | 4–1 |  England | Round of 16 | 40,510 |
