One of the great new modern stadia in England, The Stadium of Light, named after its more illustrious counterpart in Portugal, is the home of some of the worlds most passionate football fans.

Having left Roker Park, their home of 99 years, many questioned whether The Stadium of Light could ever live up to it. Now, with near capacity crowds of 40,000+ for every game, it's as if the Roker never existed. Time moves on and football is not immune to change. Talk of dislike for the stadium's name and the move itself have been replaced by sentments of pride and greatfulness. TSoL is an immense caldron of passion and belief in a region which has seen more than its fair share of social and economic downturn. The stadium is a symbol of promise, a vessel for the collective outpourings of a region which has known better times and hopes to capture then again. And the stadium itself is the gem in a triumverate of excellent stadia in the North East, a fact the locals are immensly proud off.

With a capacity of 42,000 and not a bad view in the house, the stadium is designed to allow for a capacity of 63,000. This may occur if England's 2006 World Cup bid is successful and TSoL is choosen to host games. This should be straight forward if the English bid wins, but with two other rival stadia in the North East and the politicing that would surely ensue, nothing can be taken for granted. If the above did happen though, TSoL would become the second largest club stadium in England - second only to the soon to be accomplished 67,000 of Manchester United's Old Trafford - and without doubt the largest and best of the most modern stadia developments in recent times.

The only downside for Sunderland is the appaulling road access to the stadium. Poor infrastructure already makes attending the stadium for any visiting supporters a nightmare, following an already long journey to the North East, and this situation may preclude the granting of Planning permission by the local council on grounds of over conjestion.

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