a company funded in part from Shimuzu citizens, but in main by Shizuoka Television. After the J.League bubble burst in the late 1990s, Shizuoka Television withdrew backing, and in 1998 only a drastic restructuring kept the club afloat. Ownership of S-Pulse was reorganized between local companies under the leadership of Shimizu-based Suzuyo Corporation. It is now run under the company title of S-Pulse, Inc. In culture Despite their relatively short history, S-Pulse have had some impact on popular culture beyond football. Current manager and former player of some eight years and over 200 appearances, Kenta Hasegawa, makes occasional appearances in popular manga and anime series Chibi Maruko-chan. In the show a boy with his name and referred to as Kenta-kun is sometimes seen. He loves football and is a classmate of title character Chibi Maruko. The author of the manga, Momoko Sakura, created this character after Hasegawa. Sakura and Hasegawa attended the same primary school during the same period. Unique S-Pulse related Chibi Maruko goods are also produced. In another example, two fictional characters from the popular Captain Tsubasa manga, who, on becoming professional footballers, join S-Pulse. Stadium Main articles: Nihondaira Sports Stadium, Shizuoka "Ecopa" Stadium, Kusanagi Athletic Stadium S-Pulse's main home arena is the Nihondaira Sports Stadium located in Shimizu, with a capacity of 20,248. However, over their history home games have been staged at a number of grounds. The first decade of S-Pulse's existence sometimes saw 'home' games played outside of Shizuoka prefecture, including at the National Stadium in Tokyo. The most frequently used other venue was Kusanagi Athletic Stadium. Utilised almost equally with Nihondaira over S-Pulse's earliest years, this included six home games in 1993. Kusanagi was called home while Nihondairs was enlarged in 1994, and again while the pitch relaid in 2003. With a fully functioning Nihondaira, Kusanagi was used less commonly, with the most recent first team match being held there in 2003. The most common reason for moving games is the restrictively low capacity of Nihondaira. This has often led the club to stage fixtures against neighbouring Júbilo Iwata and other high-profile clashes, at Shizuoka "Ecopa" Stadium. This stadium was built in 2001 for the following year's World Cup and has a capacity of 51,349. Despite still being in Shizuoka Prefecture, Ecopa is over an hour's travel from Shimizu, deep within the Jubilo catchment area. For such a fiercely contested derby, much of the