In 1929, Chợ Lớn Municipal Commission decided to build a new stadium in the city. The stadium was named Renault Field after the city Commission Chairman at the time - Philippe Oreste Renault. The stadium was opened on October 18, 1931 by an inauguration football match between Cho Lon Police and Gia Dinh Stars with the Cho Lon side taking a 1-0 win. In its early day, the stadium only consisted of one 20-step spectators' stand, which was covered by a reinforced cement roof.
1955 – 1975
From 1959 to October 1960, new stands and lighting system were added to the stadium while the main stand was expanded. This expansion increased the capacity of the stadium to 16,000 people. The stadium was then also renamed to Cộng Hòa Stadium. It was renovated again in 1967. Between 1955 and 1975, the site had witnessed a number of major sporting events including an over-capacity 30,000 strong crowd to watch the elimination football match between South Vietnam and South Korea leading up to the 1964 Summer Olympics. In 1966, South Vietnam captured the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia after defeating Burma 1-0 in the final. This Merdeka Cup gold trophy was kept at the stadium afterwards. Its whereabouts are not known after the Fall of Saigon. During the Vietnam War, the stadium was also the scene of terrorist attacks by the Vietcong. Explosives detonated on October 4, 1965 killed 11 and injured 42 others.
Post-1975
On September 2, 1975, the stadium was renamed Thống Nhất Stadium after a football match between Hải Quan F.C. and Ngân Hàng F.C. took place. The stadium has been home to Hồ Chí Minh City F.C. since the club's formation in 1975. Between 1995 and 2002, it was also the home ground to Hồ Chí Minh City Police F.C.. In 2002, renovation was done to prepare the stadium to host Group B men's football matches at the 2003 Southeast Asian Games. It was usually home to Vietnam national football team alongside Hàng Đẫy Stadium in Hanoi until 2003 when Mỹ Đình National Stadium was completed. In 2016, Sài Gòn F.C. selected Thong Nhat as the home stadium for their first season in V.League 1. Until 2017, the stadium has a capacity of 19,450 people. Since then, the stadium has been renovated in phases. In the first phase, the A1 and A2 sections of the main stand were repainted and a new 1500-lux floodlight system was installed in the last quarter of 2017. In 2018, the playing field was redone and more than 6,700 seats were added to the B, C and D stands. This reduced the capacity of the stadium to approximately 15,000 people. In 2019, existing seats in stand A will be replaced while new seats will be added to the east and west wing of the stand.
Usage
The stadium has hosted various domestic and international sporting and entertainment events throughout its history. Some of the most notable sporting events are listed below
