Sustainable stadium design through solar panel array installation

Amsterdam’s Johan Cruijff ArenA bears the name of one of the greatest Dutch footballers of all time and is home to the city’s world-famous football club, Ajax. Arcadis has a long-standing partnership with the Johan Cruijff ArenA, having developed the integral design for the original stadium, which was completed in 1996. Since then, our company has taken part in numerous expansion and renovation projects that continue to advance sustainable infrastructure.

In 2010, management decided to transform the ArenA into one of the world’s leading examples of a sustainable stadium, powered by renewable energy generation. As part of this effort, Arcadis experts helped design and manage the solar panel array installation that wraps around the entire roof of the stadium.

The solar panel installation produces around 930,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually—enough to power about 10% of the stadium’s yearly energy needs. Each year, this prevents an amount of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere equivalent to the emissions of approximately 180 cars.

To maximize efficiency, the stadium also features a breakthrough battery storage system that captures excess power generated during the day and makes it available for evening football matches, concerts, and other events. Surplus energy is shared with neighboring buildings and sold back to the city’s power grid—making the Johan Cruijff ArenA a global model for sustainable infrastructure and a shining example of how the energy transition can benefit both cities and communities.