Many of my readers may not have heard of Teddy Stadium or it’s namesake, Teddy Kollek. Teddy, as both he and the stadium are affectionately called by locals, was a likable six-term mayor of Jerusalem (1965-1993) who led the city through the post June ’67 reunification into a modern city.
The horseshoe-shaped Teddy Stadium first opened in 1992 with seating for 12,000 fans. However, the final stage (north end enclosure) wasn’t completed until 1997, bringing seating up to 21,000. It is surrounded by 5,000 parking spaces, which isn’t sufficient and causes the nearby roadways to be lined with double parked cars during soccer games.
Now, some of you will be surprised that you have actually heard of this stadium, but in a place you might not expect: Left Behind. The best-selling Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins end-times series uses Teddy Stadium as the location of at least one critical scene. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the details very clearly, but what I seem to remember is that (Anti-Christ?) Nicolae Carpathia gave a speech to the masses from Teddy. If you remember more, please add details in the comments.
