- Lia Manoliu Stadium
Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Lia Manoliu Stadium
nickname = Lia Manoliu Stadium
UEFA
fullname = Lia Manoliu Stadium
location =
coordinates =
broke_ground =
built =1953 (5 month)
opened =August 02 ,1953
renovated =
expanded =
closed =November 22 ,2007
demolished =December 18 2007 -February 20 ,2008
rebuilt =
owner =Municipality of Bucharest
operator = Romania
surface =
construction_cost =
architect =
former_names = 23 August
nicknames =
tenants =
Romania
1981 Summer Universiade
seating_capacity =
60,120 (football, rugby)
70,000 (concert s)
original_capacity =
dimensions =
The Lia Manoliu Stadium ("Stadionul Lia Manoliu" in Romanian) was a multi-usestadium inBucharest ,Romania . It was used mostly for football matches.The stadium held 60,120. It was built in 1953, for the
4th World Festival of Youth and Students . It was first known as Stadionul 23 August, and later on as Stadionul Naţional (National stadium ). It is now named afterLia Manoliu , adiscus throw er who competed at a record sixSummer Olympics , winning three medals.It hosted numerous concerts after the 1989 Revolution. One of the biggest ones was
Michael Jackson 'sDangerous World Tour concert, onOctober 1 ,1992 . Some 70,000 people attended the concert, which was the only concert broadcast live by theHBO channel; it has since been the highest rated program to air on HBO and had the largest TV audience in history. Other bigger concerts includeDepeche Mode (2006 ),The Rolling Stones andGeorge Michael (both in2007 ).In October 2005, it was decided to rebuild the stadium completely; however, initially no funding was found, so some repairs proceeded in lieu of rebuilding. Later, funds became available and the rebuilding is expected to begin in November 2007. The plan calls for completion of a new five-star arena by April 2010, with further plans to host the 2011
UEFA Cup final. The last football match played was a 6-1 win against Albania onNovember 21 ,2007 . After the match, a few seats were removed from the stadium, as a symbolic start of the rebuilding operations. The stadium has subsequently been demolished to make room for a new one.References
[http://www.gsp.ro/Super-Articole/Cum-s-a-construit-stadionul-23-August-Momentele-de-umilinta-si-modernizare-ale-stadionului.html?a=4039/140187/ Stadium History]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.