Arena Națională

For the old stadium, see Stadionul Naţional (1953).

Arena Națională
National Arena
UEFA Category 4 Stadium
Location	Bucharest, Romania
Coordinates	44°26′13.95″N 26°09′09.03″E / 44.4372083°N 26.1525083°E / 44.4372083; 26.1525083Coordinates: 44°26′13.95″N 26°09′09.03″E / 44.4372083°N 26.1525083°E / 44.4372083; 26.1525083
Broke ground	20 February 2008
Opened	6 September 2011
Owner	Municipality of Bucharest
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	€ 168 million[1]
Architect	Max Bögl[2] – Astaldi
Capacity	55,600 Football (soccer)
Tenants
Romania national football team (2011–) Steaua București (2011–) Oțelul Galați (UCL matches) (2011–) Rapid București (UEL matches) (2011–)

The National Stadium (Romanian: Stadionul Național) is a football stadium in Bucharest, Romania, in the Lia Manoliu Sports Complex. The stadium will host the games of Romania's national football team, as well as the Romanian Cup Final and the Romanian Supercup. The 2012 UEFA Europa League Final will be held at the new stadium. This will be the first final of a European football club competition hosted by Romania.^[3]

The stadium is built on the site of the former National Stadium, which was completed in 1953. It is a UEFA Category 4 stadium.

Construction

The old stadium was demolished between December 18, 2007 and February 20, 2008, although a symbolic removal of seats took place on November 21, 2007, after Romania defeated Albania 6-1 in a qualifying match for Euro 2008.

The construction phase generated some controversy over costs and delays, with Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu claiming that the works were 20 weeks behind schedule in May 2009.^[4] On October 8, 2009, it was decided that the stadium should also include a retractable roof worth €20,000,000.^[5]

Construction was temporarily halted in December 2009 due to unfavorable weather conditions.^[6]

Facilities

The venue holds 55,600 people but has expansion capabilities to seat 63,000 people. 3,600 VIP seats are available, with another 126 seats allotted for the press (with a possible expansion to 548 seats). The stadium includes some 360 restrooms and a retractable roof, which can be opened or closed in 15 minutes.^[7] It is also endowed with a floodlight system and 2100 parking spaces.

A Panorama view of the stadium

Usage

Outside view of the stadium in the opening night

Main entrance

The National Stadium is a Category 4 venue and will host the UEFA Europa League 2011–12 final, as announced by UEFA at Nyon on January 29, 2009.^[8][9] It was required to host at least two major events beginning in July 2011, one with an attendance of 10,000 and the second with an attendance of at least 40,000.^[7]

History

The official inauguration was initially scheduled for August 10, 2011, and was to feature a football match between Romania and Argentina.^[10] However on 26 July, Argentina officially cancelled the friendly match after their coach was fired, so the stadium was inaugurated on September 6, 2011, with a UEFA Euro 2012 Group D qualifier match between Romania and France.^[11] During this game, the grass on the playing field got completely damaged in less than 10 minutes of play time, a great embarrassment considering the overall costs of the stadium.^[12] The game ended 0–0 in front of a crowd of 49,137.

Steaua Bucharest was the first Romanian team to win on the Stadium on 3rd November ( 4 - 2 vs. Maccabi Haifa F.C.).

Romania vs France

Association Football

Association Football matches
Date	Competition	Home	Away	Score	Attendance
6 September 2011	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group D	Romania	France	0–0	49,137[13]
15 September 2011	2011-12 UEFA Europa League	Steaua București	Schalke 04	0–0	The match was moved to Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu due to grass replacement.
27 September 2011	2011-12 UEFA Champions League	Oțelul Galați	Benfica	0–1	6,824[14]
29 September 2011	2011-12 UEFA Europa League	Rapid Bucureşti	PSV Eindhoven	1–3	21,320[15]
7 October 2011	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group D	Romania	Belarus	2–2	29,846[16]
18 October 2011	2011-12 UEFA Champions League	Oțelul Galați	Manchester United	0–2	28,047[17]
20 October 2011	2011-12 UEFA Europa League	Rapid Bucureşti	Legia Warsaw	0–1	13,726[18]
24 October 2011	2011–12 Romanian Liga I	Steaua Bucureşti	Rapid Bucureşti	0–0	41,432[19]
3 November 2011	2011-12 UEFA Europa League	Steaua București	Maccabi Haifa	4-2	31,233[20]
6 November 2011	2011–12 Romanian Liga I	Steaua Bucureşti	Concordia Chiajna	2-1	12,000[21]
22 November 2011	2011-12 UEFA Champions League	Oțelul Galați	Basel	–
26 November 2011	2011–12 Romanian Liga I	Steaua Bucureşti	FC Brașov	–
30 November 2011	2011-12 UEFA Europa League	Rapid Bucureşti	Hapoel Tel Aviv	–
14 December 2011	2011-12 UEFA Europa League	Steaua București	AEK Larnaca	–
29 February 2012	Friendly match	Romania	Uruguay	–
9 May 2012	2012 UEFA Europa League Final	League Finalist 1	League Finalist 2	–
23 May 2012	2012 Cupa României Final	Cup Finalist 1	Cup Finalist 2	–
17 July 2012	2012 Supercupa României	Cup Winner	League Winner	–

Transport

The stadium is served by public transport with Bus, trams, trolleybuses and metro.

Transport means	Stadium entrance	Routes
Transport in Bucharest	Strada Pierre de Coubertin / Peluza I NORD	Trolleybuses routes → 86, 90 – 100 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 104 – 300 metre walk to stadium entrance Trams routes → 46, 55 – 500 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 101, 335, N102 – 550 metre walk to stadium entrance Trams routes → 14, 36 – 600 metre walk to stadium entrance Trolleybuses routes → 69, 85 – 1400 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 143, 682 – 1400 metre walk to stadium entrance
	Bulevardul Basarabia / Peluza II SUD	Trams routes → 40, 56 – 250 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → N109 – 250 metre walk to stadium entrance Trams routes → 36 – 750 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 101, 102, 335 – 750 metre walk to stadium entrance Trolleybuses routes → 70, 79, 92 – 800 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → N104 – 800 metre walk to stadium entrance Metro routes → M1: Piaţa Muncii – 1400 metre walk to stadium entrance Trams routes → 1 – 1500 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 135, 253, 311, 330 – 1500 metre walk to stadium entrance Metro routes → M1: Costin Georgian – 1500 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 104 – 1500 metre walk to stadium entrance
	Strada Maior Ion Coravu / Tribuna I VEST	Trams routes → 40, 56 – 500 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → N109 – 500 metre walk to stadium entrance Trolleybuses routes → 86, 90 – 600 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 104 – 600 metre walk to stadium entrance Trams routes → 1 – 1100 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 135, 311, 330 – 1100 metre walk to stadium entrance Metro routes → M1: Piaţa Muncii – 1500 metre walk to stadium entrance Trolleybuses routes → 70, 79, 92 – 1500 metre walk to stadium entrance
	Strada Socului / Tribuna II EST	Trams routes → 36 – 500 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 101, 335 – 500 metre walk to stadium entrance Trams routes → 14, 46, 55 – 800 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 104 – 850 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 102, N109 – 950 metre walk to stadium entrance Trams routes → 40, 56 – 950 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → 253 – 1400 metre walk to stadium entrance Bus routes → N104 – 1500 metre walk to stadium entrance Trolleybuses routes → 70, 79, 92 – 1500 metre walk to stadium entrance

See also

• Stadionul Naţional (1953)
• List of football stadiums in Romania

References

1. ^ Cristian Gheţu (21 June 2011). "Sorin Oprescu: Stadionul Naţional, mai frumos decât cele din Dublin sau Frankfurt" (in Romanian). cotidianul.ro. http://www.cotidianul.ro/sorin-oprescu-stadionul-national-mai-frumos-decat-cele-din-dublin-sau-frankfurt-149799/. Retrieved 15 August 2011. 
2. ^ "(English) New national stadium in Bucharest". http://www.max-boegl.de/boeglnet/web/show.jsp?nodeId=1000581&lang=de. 
3. ^ "(Romanian) Cum va arata noul stadion "National"". http://www.cotidianul.ro/cum_va_arata_noul_stadion__national-41245.html. 
4. ^ "(Romanian) Oprescu atacă: "Lucrările la stadionul 'Naţional' sunt în întârziere cu 20 de săptămâni"". http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-intern/nationala/oprescu-ataca-lucrarile-la-stadionul-national-sunt-in-intarziere-cu-20-de-saptamani-4438671. 
5. ^ "(Romanian) Stadionul Naţional va avea acoperiş retractabil de 20 milioane euro". http://www.gsp.ro/fotbal/nationala/stadionul-national-va-avea-acoperis-retractabil-de-20-milioane-euro-159361.html. 
6. ^ "(Romanian) Oprescu: "Stadionul Naţional va fi gata în decembrie 2010!"". http://www.prosport.ro/sport-life/special/oprescu-stadionul-national-va-fi-gata-in-decembrie-2010-5182356. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "(Romanian) TRIMIŞI AI FORULUI DE LA NYON AU FOST ACUM DOUĂ SĂPTĂMÎNI LA BUCUREŞTI » Ultimatum UEFA". http://www.gsp.ro/gsp-special/diverse/trimisi-ai-forului-de-la-nyon-au-fost-acum-doua-saptamini-la-bucuresti-ultimatum-uefa-171274.html. 
8. ^ "UEFA announces 2011 and 2012 final venues". UEFA. 2009-01-29. http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=64/newsid=796145.html. Retrieved 2009-01-29. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ "FRF: "UEFA a hotărât în unanimitate ca Bucureştiul să organizeze finala"". Pro Sport. 2009-01-29. http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-extern/cupa-uefa/frf-uefa-a-hotarat-in-unanimitate-ca-bucurestiul-sa-organizeze-finala-3823883. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
10. ^ "Mircea Sandu, FRF: "De acum e sigur, România - Argentina se va juca pe 11 august 2011 "". GSP TV. 2010-10-26. http://gsptv.gsp.ro/viewVideo1.php?video_id=42221&title=De_acum_e_sigur__Rom__nia___Argentina_se_va_juca_pe_11_august_2011. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 
11. ^ Dobre, Adi (30 July 2011). "Mircea Sandu: "Facem inaugurarea stadionului Național cu Franța"". Evenimentul Zilei. http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/mircea-sandu-facem-inaugurarea-stadionului-national-cu-franta-939990.html. Retrieved 2011-08-07. 
12. ^ http://www.romania-insider.com/french-media-on-national-arena-grass-after-romania-france-game-field-of-potatoes-garden-with-molehills/33392/#
13. ^ http://www.frf.ro/echipa-nationala/game/627
14. ^ http://www.gsp.ro/international/liga-campionilor/au-intrat-in-istorie-otelul-benfica-a-avut-cei-mai-putini-spectatori-din-ultimii-7-ani-266587.html/
15. ^ http://www.soccerway.com/matches/2011/09/29/europe/uefa-cup/sc-fc-rapid-sa-bucuresti/psv-nv/1210331/
16. ^ http://www.gsp.ro/fotbal/nationala/foto-romania-belarus-2-2-adio-euro-sa-vina-mondialul-269371.html#galerie_foto
17. ^ http://www.soccerway.com/matches/2011/10/18/europe/uefa-champions-league/sc-fc-otelul-sa-galati/manchester-united-fc/1209500/
18. ^ http://www.soccerway.com/matches/2011/10/20/europe/uefa-cup/sc-fc-rapid-sa-bucuresti/kp-legia-warsaw/1210338/
19. ^ http://www.gsp.ro/fotbal/liga-1/steaua-rapid-a-dat-cifrele-din-liga-1-peste-cap-274743.html
20. ^ http://www.soccerway.com/matches/2011/11/03/europe/uefa-cup/sc-fc-steaua-bucuresti-sa/maccabi-haifa-fc/1210449/
21. ^ http://www.soccerway.com/matches/2011/11/06/romania/liga-i/sc-fc-steaua-bucuresti-sa/cs-concordia-chiajna/1143340/

Preceded by Aviva Stadium Dublin	UEFA Europa League Final Venue 2012	Succeeded by Amsterdam Arena Amsterdam
Preceded by Stade de France Paris	UEFA Euro 2020 Final Venue bid 2020	Succeeded by Incumbent

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