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後楽園スタジアム | |
 Korakuen Stadium in 1984 | |
 Interactive map of Korakuen Stadium | |
| Address | 1-3-61 Koraku |
|---|---|
| Location | Bunkyō,Tokyo |
| Owner | Korakuen Stadium Company, Ltd. |
| Capacity | 42,337 |
| Field size | Left Field – 87.8 m (288 ft)[1] Left-Center – 110 m (361 ft) Center Field – 120.7 m (396 ft) Right-Center – 110 m (361 ft) Right Field – 87.8 m (288 ft) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1937 |
| Closed | 1987 |
| Demolished | 1988 |
| Architect | Ryutaro Furuhashi |
| Main contractors | Tobishima Corporation |
| Tenants | |
| Tokyo Senators/Tsubasa/Taiyō/Nishitetsu (JBL) (1936–1943) Korakuen Eagles/Kurowashi/Yamato (JBL) (1936–1943) | |
Korakuen Stadium (後楽園球場,Kōrakuen Kyūjō) was astadium inTokyo, Japan. Completed in 1937, it was originally used forbaseball, and was home to theYomiuri Giants for nearly fifty years. For various periods of time, it was also the home stadium of six other professional Japanese baseball teams, including theMainichi Orions, theKokutetsu Swallows, and theNippon Ham Fighters. Korakuen was the home of theIntercity baseball tournament for nearly fifty years. It originally hosted theJapanese Baseball Hall of Fame, now located at Korakuen's successor venue, theTokyo Dome. In the 1970s and 1980s Korakuen was also used as a concert venue for superstar performers. The ballpark had a capacity of 50,000 people.
From 1936 to 1943, Korakuen was the home stadium of theTokyo Senators (also known as Tsubasa, Taiyō, and Nishitetsu) of theJapanese Baseball League (JBL). In 1942 Korakuen Stadium played host to a memorable 28-inning, 311-pitchcomplete game effort byMichio Nishizawa of theNagoya Club against Taiyō.
From 1936 to 1943, Korakuen was also the home stadium of theKorakuen Eagles (also known as Kurowashi and Yamato) of the JBL.
Korakuen hosted Tokyo'sIntercity baseball tournament from 1938 to 1987.
Korakuen Stadium was the home of theYomiuri Giants from 1938 until 1988, when the team moved next door, to theTokyo Dome, which sits on the former site of Korakuen'svelodrome.
TheDaiei Stars (also known as Gold Star and the Kinsei Stars) played their home games at Korakuen from 1946 to 1956. In 1957 the Stars merged with theTakahashi Unions to form theDaiei Unions, and the following year the Unions merged with theMainichi Orions — which had also played their home games at Korakuen since 1950 — to form theDaimai Orions. The Orions (later known as theChiba Lotte Marines) played at Korakuen through the 1962 season, when the team moved toTokyo Stadium.
TheChunichi Dragons played their homes games during the 1948 season in Korakuen.
TheJapanese Baseball Hall of Fame first opened in 1959 next door to Korakuen Stadium. (In 1988, the museum moved to a new site within theTokyo Dome.)
Korakuen was the home stadium of theKokutetsu Swallows from 1950 to 1963, when the team moved toMeiji Jingu Stadium. Korakuen then became the home stadium of theNippon Ham Fighters until 1987, when, like the Yomiuri Giants, the Fighters also moved to the Tokyo Dome.
On August 16, 1976, Korakuen hosted the firstNFL game played outside of North America, when theSt. Louis Cardinals defeated theSan Diego Chargers 20–10 in a preseason game before 38,000 people.
Korakuen Stadium also hosted theMirage Bowl from 1977 to 1979.
Korakuen was the site of the all-day "For Freedom" show, on April 4, 1978, which was the marathon farewell performance by Japanese girl groupCandies. On July 23 of that same year,Pink Lady performed in front of over 100,000 fans at the stadium. Three years later on March 31, 1981, Pink Lady returned to perform their final concert at the time.
On June 20–22, 1987,Madonna sold all of the 65,000 available tickets for three concerts (around 21,600 per show) on theWho's That Girl World Tour in a few hours. The second night was shown on TV in Japan and was later released onVHS andLaserDisc.
Michael Jackson kicked off theBad World Tour, his first tour as a solo artist, with three sold-out concerts in September 12-13-14, 1987, at the stadium, with total attendance of 135,000. (about 35,000 per show)
Korakuen Stadium closed on November 8, 1987, and demolition began the next day, which was completed in February 1988. The former site of the right-center field area is now occupied by a high-rise, the Tokyo Dome Hotel. The remainder of the former ballpark site is a plaza for the Tokyo Dome and the hotel.
35°42′16″N139°45′12″E / 35.70444°N 139.75333°E /35.70444; 139.75333