מיקום אצטדיוני כדורגל בישראל כביטוי לעירוניוּת ולאנטי-עירוניוּת

In recent years there has been a flourish of stadium constructions around the world and in Israel. This is accompanied by an emerging notion that the stadium is not only a sports facility, but also an iconic public building that functions as a family-friendly recreational and leisure space, and that can influence its surrounding urban space economically, culturally, and communally. Over the years, football stadiums have had a complex relationship with the city: Initially, stadiums were located in city centers and near densely populated areas. Over time, they migrated to the outskirts of cities or nearby suburbs, which offer more space and vehicle accessibility. Recently, it is possible to identify a tendency for keeping such stadiums within the inner-city, while maximizing their advantages for urban renewal. In turn, the construction of public buildings such as stadiums may now be an option for city planners who are contemplating the rehabilitation of deteiorating areas and the revival of public spaces.The study examined how urban processes have affected the location of football stadiums in Israel in recent years, and whether they contribute to the new planning doctrine that promotes urbanism in Israel. Nine stadiums, built between 2010-2019 were included in this studied: three new stadiums in cities where no stadium had previously existed, five stadiums that were relocated to another place in the city, and one that was expanded and renovated on its original site. The research examined the stadiums’ spatial locations, planning trends, transportation accessibility, and city-stadium relationship. The findings illustrate how processes such as urban decline, suburbanization, urban sprawl, and spatial isolation affected the location choices of most football stadiums in Israel that are situated on the outskirts or outside of the cities, and that led to their detachment from the built area. Moreover, most of these stadiums did not significantly contribute to promoting urbanism, except for the renovated Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv-Yafo, which can be a model for stadium-led regeneration in Israel