7 April Stadium (Aleppo)

7 April Stadium
Al-Baladi Stadium الملعب البلدي
Full name	7 April Stadium
Former names	Al-Baladi Stadium
Location	Ismailiyah district, Aleppo, Syria
Coordinates	36°12′04″N 37°08′09″E / 36.2010°N 37.1357°E
Owner	Government of Syria
Operator	General Sports Federation of Syria
Capacity	12,000
Field size	105 x 68 m
Surface	Artificial turf
Opened	1948
Tenants
	Al-Yarmouk SC Aleppo; Jalaa SC ; Shorta Aleppo SC ; Ommal Aleppo SC

7 April Stadium (Arabic: ملعب السابع من نيسان) is a football stadium in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Opened in 1948, the venue is considered to be the oldest football stadium in Syria.^[1] The stadium is home to the Syrian 2nd Division football clubs Al-Yarmouk SC, Jalaa SC, Shorta Aleppo SC and Ommal Aleppo SC.

History

The stadium was opened as the Aleppo Municipal Stadium in 1948 shortly-after the independence of Syria. In 1977, the stadium was enlarged and the seating capacity was increased to 12,000. In the same year, the stadium was renamed as 7 April Stadium to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the Ba'ath Party. During the beginning of the 1980s, the natural grass of the stadium was replaced with a plastic pitch. Later in 2001, an artificial turf was installed.^[2]

After the breakout of the Syrian Civil War, the stadium remained intact during the Battle of Aleppo between 2012 and 2016.