Stadium of Light

How the Stadium of Light got its name
During construction, the stadium had not adopted an official name, and had been known colloquially as the "Wearside Stadium" and "New Roker Park".[18]

The name was eventually revealed as the Stadium of Light at a naming ceremony on 30 July 1997, hours before the opening game against Ajax.[19] Speaking at the naming event, Bob Murray explained the inspiration for the name came from the Coal mining heritage of the region and the stadium's Monkwearmouth Colliery site:

"For many years, miners at Wearmouth Colliery carried with them a Davy lamp as part of their working lives. Reflecting this tradition, the name allows the image of this light to shine forever."

To emphasise the fact, a statue of a miner's Davy lamp was located in front of the stadium's ticket office, adjacent to the stadium.[18]

The name initially drew mixed reactions from Sunderland fans many unhappy that the name was already associated with the home ground of S.L. Benfica.[20][21] A film crew for the Premier Passions documentary series recorded the moment that Bob Murray faced Sunderland fans immediately after the naming with many expressing their disappointment. The similarity to the name of Benfica's home, Estádio da Luz, often anglicised to The Stadium of Light, has led to some visiting fans and reporters to erroneously assume that Sunderland's home was named after the Portuguese stadium.[22][23] Murray responded directly to this in a 2017 interview with the Evening Chronicle, in which he said



The Estadio de Luz in Portugal isn’t the Stadium of Light, it is named after the area – Luz. It’s like, say, Elland Road or Old Trafford. We are the only club whose stadium has that name, and it was because of the history of the region that I named it".[3]

Monkwearmouth pit has a goof fb page if anyone’s interested. Some good stories on there. Stadium of Light is a pants name, just like Cardiff City Stadium. The fans should name the grounds.