The legacy of the 2002 World Cup has given many Japanese cities state-of-the-art stadiums, and Sapporo is no different.
The 41,580-seat Sapporo Dome played host to Germany's 8-0 humiliation of Saudi Arabia in that tournament, as well as David Beckham's exorcism of his World Cup demons with a match-winning penalty against Argentina.
But the stadium has not been able to stage as many successes for local team Consadole Sapporo as Hokkaido fans would like.