Vasermil Stadium


The Arthur Vasermil Municipal Stadium, commonly known as the Vasermil Stadium, was a football stadium in Beersheba, Israel. The stadium was designed as an open bowl, and at one stage had a running track, though this was later bricked over. In its final form the stadium was all-seated with a capacity of 13,000.

History

The stadium was the home ground of Hapoel Be'er Sheva from its opening in 1960. Initially known as the Municipal Stadium, it was renamed in 1988 after when the mother of Arthur Vasermil financed stadium refurbishment work; Vasermil had died at Majdanek concentration camp during the Holocaust at the age of seven.
During the 2005–06 season, it also served as the home ground for Maccabi Be'er Sheva for their Liga Leumit season, as their ground did not meet the required standard for Liga Leumit. Maccabi returned to their grounds with their relegation back to Liga Artzit.
The ground was used for international football when Israel played the United States in friendly match on 15 November 1973, with Israel winning 2–0 in front of 3,000 spectators.
Despite a survey of Beersheba residents finding that the overwhelming majority would prefer the city to renovate the old stadium rather than dedicating all its funds to the building of a new stadium, the city council has plans to demolish the stadium after the completion of the US$50 million 16,000-seat Turner Stadium, which opened in 2015.