Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: RV&AV Sparta (1916-1976) / RFC Xerxes (1963-1967) / Sparta Rotterdam (1976-)

Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel, Rotterdam Spangen (Sparta Rotterdam, formerly RV&AV Sparta / RFC Xerxes)

Netherlands, province: South Holland = Zuid-Holland

15 IV 2005 / Sparta Rotterdam - AGOVV 3-1 / Eerste Divisie (= NL level 2)

6 VI 2005 / Sparta Rotterdam - FC Zwolle 3-1 / Eerste Divisie, promotion play-off (= NL level 2)
31 X 2007 / Sparta Rotterdam - NAC Breda 2-3 / Netherlands' Cup
6 II 2008 / Sparta Rotterdam - NAC Breda 0-1 / Eredivisie (= NL level 1)
15 XI 2008 / Sparta Rotterdam - FC Volendam 4-0 / Eredivisie (= NL level 1)
30 XI 2008 / Sparta Rotterdam - NAC Breda 4-0 / Eredivisie (= NL level 1)
24 I 2011 / Sparta Rotterdam - AGOVV Apeldoorn 3-3 / Eerste Divisie (= NL level 2)
28 I 2011 / Sparta Rotterdam - RBC Roosendaal 4-1 / Eerste Divisie (= NL level 2)
25 XI 2011 / Sparta Rotterdam - FC Eindhoven 2-2 / Eerste Divisie (= NL level 2)

Timeline

1888 / Foundation of a cricket club in Rotterdam, Sparta. Later that year, the father of one of the founding members of the club brings back a football from a business trip to Scotland. Official foundation of the club under the name Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club (RC&FC) Sparta. In that first year, 'matches' are played on squares across Rotterdam, mainly Grote Kerkplein and Stationsplein (Station Delftsche Poort).
1889 / RC&FC Sparta moves into its first cricket and football ground, Terrein De Heuvel, situated in a local park.
1890 / RC&FC Sparta absorbs a smaller club from Rotterdam, Minerva.
1893 / RC&FC Sparta manages its first success, winning the title in League 2 (2e klasse), with an equal number of points as runners-up Go Ahead Wageningen, but with a better goal difference (+50 vs. +41). As such, the club accedes to League 1 (1e klasse), the top flight of the Netherlands’ football pyramid at that time. Also in 1893, the club moves from Terrein De Heuvel to Terrein Binnenweg.
1894 / After one year at Terrein Binnenweg, RC&FC Sparta moves to Terrein Schuttersveld.
1895 / RC&FC Sparta finishes as runners-up in League 1, 3 points behind champions HFC.
1897 / RC&FC Sparta changes its name to become Rotterdamsche Voetbal- & Athletiekvereeniging (RV&AV) Sparta.
1898 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West’s League 1, 4 points behind champions RAP.
1901 / Finishing in eighth and last place in District West’s League 1, RV&AV Sparta drops back into League 2.
1902 / Runners-up in District West’s League 2A, RV&AV Sparta joins champions RC&VV Volharding in League 1 in the new season. Also in 1902, 19-year-old defender Bok de Korver makes his debut in Sparta’s first team. De Korver goes on to wear Sparta’s colours for 21 seasons, playing 363 matches – moreover winning 31 caps for the Netherlands’ national team.
1903 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West’s League 1A, 2 points behind champions HVV.
1906 / Moving away from Terrein Schuttersveld after twelve years, RV&AV Sparta now settles at the newly laid-out Terrein Prinsenlaan.
1908 / RV&AV Sparta absorbs a smaller club from Rotterdam, Celeritas.
1909 / RV&AV Sparta finishes in joint first place in District West’s League 1 with HVV, but with a better goal difference (+46 vs. +39), thus qualifying for the national championship final, in which the club defeats District East champions RKVV Wilhelmina (10-3 aggr.) to clinch its first nationwide title. Also in 1909, Jaap Blazer composes a march dedicated to the club, which undergoes several adaptations in the 1920s and early 1930s, being known from that moment on as the ‘Sparta-Marsch’, the official club anthem until the present day.
1910 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West’s League 1, 3 points behind champions HVV.
1911 / Champions in District West’s League 1, 3 points ahead of runners-up RC&VV VOC, RV&AV Sparta qualifies for the national championship final, in which the club defeats District East champions GVC (6-2 aggr.), thus clinching its second nationwide title.
1912 / Champions in District West’s League 1, 2 points ahead of closest followers DFC, RV&AV Sparta qualifies for the national championship final, in which the club defeats District East champions GVC (8-1 aggr.), thus clinching its third nationwide title.
1913 / Champions in District West’s League 1, 8 points ahead of closest rivals DFC, RV&AV Sparta qualifies for the national championship final, in which the club defeats District East champions AVC Vitesse (4-2 aggr.), thus clinching its fourth nationwide title.
1914 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West’s League 1, 9 points behind champions HVV.
1915 / Champions in District West’s League 1, 13 points ahead of runners-up HFC, RV&AV Sparta qualifies for the national championship final, in which the club defeats District East champions AVC Vitesse (1-2, 4-1, tie-break match: 3-0), thus clinching its fifth nationwide title.
1916 / Champions in District West’s League 1, 10 points ahead of closest followers DFC, RV&AV Sparta qualifies for the national title play-offs, in which the club finishes in third and last place behind Willem II and DVV Go Ahead. Also in 1916, after eleven seasons at Terrein Prinsenlaan, Sparta moves into the newly-built Sparta-Stadion, designed by J.H. de Roos and W.F. Overeijnder. The new ground is graced with a 110-metre-long wooden main stand, offering 1,700 spectators a covered seat. Facing this stand, on the other side of the pitch, a castle-shaped clubhouse has been erected – a reference to Kasteel Ter Spangen, a Medieval castle which gave the name to the Spangen neighbourhood, where the stadium is situated. For that reason, the Sparta-Stadion is often referred to as Stadion Spangen. The ground is inaugurated with a gala match on October 15th, 1916, in which Sparta defeats Willem II (1-0).
1917 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West’s League 1, 9 points behind champions ASV UVV.
1921 / Finishing in second-last place in District West’s League 1, RV&AV Sparta drops back into the so-called Overgangklasse (‘Transitional Division’) along with bottom club AFC.
1922 / Champions in the Overgangsklasse, 7 points ahead of closest rivals HV&CV Quick, RV&AV Sparta manages a return to District West’s League 1.
1924 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West II’s League 1, 3 points behind champions IJVV Stormvogels.
1925 / Champions in District West I’s League 1, 1 point ahead of closest followers RVV Feijenoord, RV&AV Sparta qualifies for the national title play-offs for the first time in nine years, but the club finishes in third and last place behind HBS and NAC. Also in 1925, a wooden stand is inaugurated along the eastern side of the pitch, as well as two concrete terraces, which have been constructed on both sides of the castle-shaped clubhouse.
1926 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West I’s League 1, 1 point behind champions IJVV Stormvogels.
1928 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West I’s League 1, 8 points behind champions RVV Feijenoord. Also in 1928, with the Olympic Games taking place in Amsterdam’s Olympisch Stadion, part of the football tournament is held at Stadion Spangen. The Netherlands plays all of its three games here; a 3-1 win over Belgium, a 2-2 draw against Chile, and a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Egypt.
1929 / Champions in District West I’s League 1, 11 points ahead of runners-up HVV ADO, RV&AV Sparta qualifies for the national title play-offs, in which the club finishes in fourth place, 5 points behind champions PSV.
1931 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West II’s League 1, 1 point behind champions RVV Feijenoord.
1939 / The club is deprived of a considerable part of its membership following the mobilisation of the Netherlands' armed forces in the summer of 1939.
1940 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in District West II’s League 1, 6 points behind champions RVV Feijenoord. Following the German occupation of the Netherlands and the devastating bomb attack on Rotterdam, Stadion Spangen is transformed into an emergency hospital. In the following years, several clubs which are deprived of their stadium play part of their games at Stadion Spangen in the war years – including RC&VV VOC, RFC, Excelsior, SC Neptunus, and RVV Feijenoord.
1952 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 1D, 2 points behind champions C&FC Hermes DVS.
1953 / Champions in Sunday League 1C, RV&AV Sparta qualifies for the national title play-offs, in which the club finishes in third place, only 1 point behind champions RCH.
1954 / RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 1C, 1 points behind champions PSV. Later that same year, the club decides to join the newly founded Netherlands’ professional league pyramid.
1955 / In its first season as a professional league club, RV&AV Sparta finishes as runners-up in Sunday League 1B, 11 points behind champions Willem II.
1956 / Champions in Hoofdklasse A with coach Denis Neville, RV&AV Sparta qualifies for the national title play-offs, in which the club finishes in fourth and last place, 5 points behind Rapid JC and NAC. Even so, in a reorganisation of the league pyramid effectuated for the new season, Sparta is placed in the new top tier of the Netherlands’ league pyramid, the so-called Eredivisie (‘Division of Honour’).
1958 / Coached by Denis Neville, RV&AV Sparta reaches the Netherlands’ Cup final for the first time, meeting RKSV Volendam at Amsterdam’s Olympisch Stadion (att. 18,000) and walking away with the trophy following a 4-3 win (goals by Tinus Bosselaar, Peet Geel, Ad Verhoeven & Volendam own goal).
1959 / Coached by Denis Neville, RV&AV Sparta wins its sixth national title – and the first one since 1915 – as the club finishes in first place in the Eredivisie, 3 points ahead of runners-up Rapid JC. As such, the club qualifies for the European Cup, drawing a bye in R1, and eliminating IFK Göteborg in R2 (4-4 aggr. & 3-1 win in a tie-break match at Bremen’s Weserstadion) before being eliminated by Rangers FC in the quarter finals (3-3 aggr. & 3-2 defeat in a tie-break match at Highbury, London). Also in 1959, with the club having had to make do with just the pitch in the stadium and one side-pitch, Sparta is now given the luxury of a youth academy ground, Sportpark Laag Zestienhoven.
1961 / After two years at Sportpark Laag Zestienhoven, RV&AV Sparta moves its youth academy to a newly laid-out ground only a stone’s throw away from the stadium, Sportpark Nieuw Vreelust.
1962 / Coached by Denis Neville, RV&AV Sparta reaches the Netherlands’ Cup final for the second time, meeting DHC at its own Stadion Spangen (att. 12,000) and walking away with the trophy following a 1-0 win (A.E.T., goal by Piet van Miert). Thus qualifying for the 1962-63 Cup Winners’ Cup, the club is eliminated in R1 by FC Lausanne Sport (5-4 aggr.).
1963 / RV&AV Sparta finishes in third place in the Eredivisie. Also in 1963, the so-called Schietribune, the new, two-tiered east stand of the ground, is inaugurated, bringing total capacity of the stadium up to 32,000. That same year, Sparta’s derby rivals RFC Xerxes are forced out of their Terrein Kleiweg, which has to make way for a new transit road. Deprived of an alternative, RFC Xerxes concludes a groundsharing agreement with Sparta, moving its first team football to Stadion Spangen.
1964 / After seventeen years of being Sparta’s goalkeeper, Tonny van Ede hangs up his boots. Van Ede, who was part of Sparta’s legendary title-winning team in 1959, played 455 official matches for the club, while also winning two caps for the Netherlands’ national team in 1953.
1966 / Coached by Bill Thompson, RV&AV Sparta reaches the Netherlands’ Cup final for the third time, meeting HSV ADO at Stadion Feijenoord (att. 24,000) and walking away with the trophy following a 1-0 win (goal by Ole Madsen). Thus qualifying for the 1966-67 Cup Winners’ Cup, the club defeats Floriana FC in R1 (7-1 aggr.) before being eliminated by Servette FC in R2 (2-1 aggr.).
1967 / RV&AV Sparta finishes in third place in the Eredivisie. That same year, two of the club’s players make their debut in the Netherlands’ national team, defender Hans Eijkenbroek and goalkeeper Jan van Beveren. Van Beveren would go on to earn himself a transfer to PSV in 1970, while Eijkenbroek became one of Sparta’s club legends, wearing the red-and-white in 299 official matches between 1963 and 1973. Meanwhile, also in 1967, Sparta’s groundsharers RFC Xerxes merge with DHC, resulting in the foundation of Xerxes DHC. The new merger club plays its football at DHC’s Gemeentelijk Sportpark Brasserskade – an arrangement which lasts for one season only, as the club goes bankrupt in 1968.
1970 / RV&AV Sparta takes part in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the precursor of the UEFA Cup, eliminating íA Akranes in R1 (15-0 aggr.) and Coleraine FC in R2 (4-1 aggr.) before being eliminated by FC Bayern München in the quarter-final (5-2 aggr.).
1971 / Coached by Georg Kessler, RV&AV Sparta reaches the Netherlands’ Cup final for the fourth time, meeting champions AFC Ajax at Stadion Feijenoord (att. 63,000) and managing a 2-2 draw – but losing the replay at Amsterdam’s Olympisch Stadion (2-1). As AFC Ajax qualifies for the European Cup, Sparta is the Netherlands’ representative in the 1971-72 Cup Winners’ Cup, in which the club defeats PFC Levski-Spartak in R1 (3-1 aggr.) before being knocked out by FK Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) in R2 (3-2 aggr.).
1972 / RV&AV Sparta finishes in fourth place in the Eredivisie, repeating that same result in the following season.
1973 / Inauguration of a first set of floodlights at Stadion Spangen. Due to a lack of these facilities, the club had had to play the majority of its international matches in the 1950s and 1960s at Stadion Feijenoord. The first floodlit event at Stadion Spangen is a gala match against FC Barcelona, with Sparta walking away with a 2-0 win (att. 28,000).
1976 / An administrative separation is implemented, with RV&AV Sparta being subdivided into two independent entities; a professional league club, which henceforth carries the name Sparta Rotterdam; and a non-league club, which retains the old name RV&AV Sparta, as well as taking over the club’s branches for other sports (rugby, cricket, and baseball). Henceforth, RV&AV Sparta shares Sportpark Nieuw Vreelust with Sparta Rotterdam’s youth academy.
1983 / Finishing in fourth place in the Eredivisie, Sparta Rotterdam qualifies for the UEFA Cup, in which the club has the better of Coleraine FC (5-1 aggr.) and FC Carl Zeiss Jena (4-3 aggr.) before being knocked out by FK Spartak Moskva in R3 (3-1 aggr.).
1985 / Finishing in fourth place in the Eredivisie, Sparta Rotterdam qualifies for the UEFA Cup, in which the club manages a major upset by eliminating Hamburger SV in R1 (2-2 aggr. & penalty shoot-out) before being knocked out by Borussia VfL 1900 Mönchengladbach in R2 (6-2 aggr.).
1987 / The side-pitch of Stadion Spangen, mainly used for the training sessions of the first team, is removed to make way for housing.
1988 / A set of sponsor boxes are constructed at the side of the ground where the castle-shaped clubhouse is situated.
1990 / Much of the roof constructions of the main stand as well as the Schietribune are destroyed in a storm. In the following months, parts of the dilapidate Schietribune are knocked down, with a renovated, much smaller stand being inaugurated in January 1991.
1996 / Coached by Henk ten Cate, Sparta Rotterdam reaches the Netherlands’ Cup final for the fifth time, meeting PSV at Stadion Feijenoord (att. 35,000) and suffering a 5-2 defeat. Also in 1996, Sparta’s defender John Veldman is the club’s last player to date to be called up for the Netherlands’ national team, winning one cap in the run-up to the 1996 European Championships, in which he is an unused sub.
1998 / Overseen by Zwarts & Jansma architects, a thorough renovation of Stadion Spangen is undertaken, involving the pitch being given a quarter’s turn and all stands being knocked down and replaced by modern constructions. The only feature of the old ground remaining untouched is the castle-shaped clubhouse.
1999 / Finishing in second-last place in the Eredivisie, Sparta Rotterdam has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club saves its skin – winning first place in a group against D2 teams FC Groningen, SBV Excelsior, and Helmond Sport.
2000 / After two years of building works, the renovation of Stadion Spangen is completed, with the inaugural ceremony being performed by Rotterdam’s mayor Ivo Opstelten on January 25th, 2000, upon which Sparta plays a gala match against Rangers FC (0-0). Official capacity of the ground, which is officially renamed Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel, is now down to 10,599. Also in 2000, after 37 years at Sportpark Nieuw Vreelust, Sparta moves its youth academy to the newly laid-out Sportpark Nieuw Terbregge in Rotterdam-Hillegersberg.
2001 / Coached by former Netherlands’ international player Willem van Hanegem, Sparta Rotterdam finishes in second-last place in the Eredivisie. As such, the club has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs, in which it manages to save its skin – winning first place in a group against D2 teams Cambuur-Leeuwarden, SBV Excelsior, and Go Ahead Eagles. Also in 2001, the East Stand of Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel is named after former trainer Denis Neville. Later on, one of the other stands is given the name of ultimate Sparta club legend Bok de Korver.
2002 / Coached by former Netherlands’ international player Frank Rijkaard, Sparta Rotterdam finishes in second-last place in the Eredivisie. As a result, the club has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs, in which it finishes in last place, 3 points behind group winner SBV Excelsior. As such, Sparta descends into the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Netherlands’ football pyramid, for the first time since the club acceded to the professional league pyramid in the mid-1950s.
2004 / Finishing in third place in the Eerste Divisie, Sparta Rotterdam qualifies for the promotion play-offs, finishing in third place in a four-way group, 8 points behind winners SBV Vitesse.
2005 / Runners-up in the Eerste Divisie with interim coach Adri van Tiggelen, finishing just 1 point behind champions Heracles Almelo, Sparta Rotterdam qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club finishes in first place in a group against Helmond Sport, BV De Graafschap, and FC Zwolle. As such, Sparta returns to the top flight of the Netherlands’ football pyramid after an absence of three seasons.
2010 / Finishing in third-last place in the Eredivisie with coach Aad de Mos, Sparta Rotterdam has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs, defeating Helmond Sport in the semis (3-2 aggr.), but being eliminated at the hands of derby rivals SBV Excelsior in the final (1-1 aggr. & away goals), resulting in the club tumbling back into the Eerste Divisie.
2012 / Runners-up in the Eerste Divisie, 7 points behind champions FC Zwolle, Sparta Rotterdam qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in the semifinal by Willem II (3-2 aggr.).
2013 / Finishing in third place in the Eerste Divisie, Sparta Rotterdam qualifies for the promotion play-offs, defeating Helmond Sport in the semis (5-3 aggr.) before being eliminated in the final by Roda JC (2-1 aggr.).
2014 / In a disastrous season, Sparta Rotterdam finishes in sixteenth place in the Eerste Divisie. Even so, thanks to a relatively good first half of the season, the club qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it manages to eliminate FC Eindhoven (3-1 aggr.) and NEC (4-1 aggr.), before being knocked out in the final by FC Dordrecht (5-3 aggr.). Also in 2014, the grass pitch of Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel is replaced with a synthetic surface.
2016 / Champions in the Eerste Divisie with coach Alex Pastoor, 4 points ahead of closest rivals VVV-Venlo, Sparta Rotterdam manages a return to the Eredivisie after an absence of six years. As U23 squads are integrated into the non-league pyramid, Sparta’s B team, ‘Jong Sparta (Rotterdam)’, is placed in the so-called Tweede Divisie, the third tier of the Netherlands’ league pyramid; the team plays its home matches at Het Kasteel.
2018 / Finishing in second-last place in the Eredivisie with coach Dick Advocaat, Sparta Rotterdam has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs, defeating FC Dordrecht in the semis (4-3 aggr.) before being eliminated in the final by FC Emmen (3-1 aggr.). As such, the club descends into the Eerste Divisie for the third time in seventeen years.
2019 / Runners-up in the Eerste Divisie with coach Henk Fraser, 11 points behind champions FC Twente, Sparta Rotterdam qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club eases past TOP Oss in the semis (5-0 aggr.) before knocking out top flight club BV De Graafschap in the final (3-2 aggr.). As such, Sparta manages an immediate return to the Eredivisie, where the club has featured ever since.
2022 / After eight seasons, the 3G pitch in Het Kasteel finally has to make way for a proper grass pitch. Coinciding with this, Sparta Rotterdam moves the home matches of its B team, Jong Sparta, to Sportpark Dijkpolder in Maassluis – the ground of Excelsior Maassluis – to avoid exhaustion of its main pitch.
2024 / After two years of groundsharing with Excelsior Maassluis at Sportpark Dijkpolder, Sparta Rotterdam moves the home matches of its B team, Jong Sparta, to the newly refurbished Sportpark Nieuw Terbregge, its youth academy ground.

Note - The last photo in the series below shows two benches of the old Schie stand, which was demolished in a renovation of the stadium in the mid-1990s - and these banches are now gracing the balcony of Sparta supporter Dick Rietveld in Rotterdam.