Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium



The Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium (STAR; Malay: Stadium Tuanku Abdul Rahman), also known by its informal name Stadium Paroi or Paroi Stadium and nickname The STAR of Paroi, is a multi-purpose stadium in Paroi, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. Inaugurated on April 23, 1992, the stadium initially held a capacity of 20,000 people. In 2004, the capacity of the stadium had been upgraded to 45,000 people for the hosting of the 2004 Sukma Games. It is currently home to the Negeri Sembilan Football Association.

The stadium is named in honor of Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad, the eighth Yamtuan Besar of Seri Menanti, the second Yang Di-Pertuan Besar of modern-day Negeri Sembilan, and the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

During the third round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Syria national football team played two of its home matches here due to the Syrian Civil War.

Backgrounds
Before 1992, Negeri Sembilan FA played football matches in Seremban Municipal Stadium. Following the new appointment of Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan, Mohd Isa Abdul Samad on April 29, 1982, he decided to build a new sports complex in Paroi as part of a plan to modernize Negeri Sembilan.

The old site of the stadium was a military camp and an airstrip for the 2 Flight Army Air Corp. The military camp was built during the height of the Malayan Emergency to provide air cover for the jungle operation. The military camp and airstrip were demolished in the 1990s to build the new state stadium for Negeri Sembilan.

Openings and later refurbishments
The stadium finally opened on April 11, 1992, with a final match of the 1992 Piala Emas Raja-Raja between the Negeri Sembilan Malays Football Association and Terengganu Malays Football Association, which the home side won 2-1 with Lim Teong Kim and Yeo Swee Hock putting their names on the scoresheet.

The stadium officially opened on April 23, 1992, when Tuanku Ja’afar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman declared it open by himself during the opening day of the Negeri Sembilan Athletics School Championship at 3 p.m. The cost of the new multi-purpose stadium was around RM15 million.

In 2004, Negeri Sembilan became the host of the 2004 Sukma Games. Major renovation and construction took place in this area, especially the stadium. The capacity of the stadium had been upgraded to 45,000 people for this event.

The stadium has been used for athletic and football events. On May 29, 2004, the opening ceremony took place. The Negeri Sembilan football squad has lived up to their favourites in the Sukma by winning the men's football gold medal, defeating Johore 1-0 in the final match on June 5, 2004. The closing ceremony happened on June 6, 2004.

Facilities
The Paroi Stadium currently has a capacity of around 45,000. Most of the seats in the stadium are reinforced concrete stadium seating, except for the grandstand seating, which uses orange plastic chairs.

Outside the stadium, there are many food stalls and hawkers, such as Popia Kuala Kangsar, Mee Kari Stadium, Selera Pinggiran, and Dilz Chicken.

There are many parking lots at the stadium, which are usually used for the farmer's market on Sunday morning and the Ramadhan Bazaar.