Baku Olympic Stadium

Baku Olympic Stadium
UEFA Category 4 Stadium
Location Baku, Azerbaijan
Owner Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan
Capacity 69,700
Surface Grass
Construction
Broke ground 6 June 2011
Opened 6 March 2015
Architect Heerim, ROSSETTI (Sports Architect)
Structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti
General contractor Tekfen Construction, Turkey
Tenants
Azerbaijan national football team
Qarabağ FK (european competitions matches)
Website
Official Website

Baku Olympic Stadium is a 68,700-seat stadium,[1] designed and constructed to meet the international standards for stadiums set by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). This is the largest stadium in Azerbaijan.

Construction of the 225,000-square-meter Stadium on a 650,000-square-meter site was completed in February 2015. The six-story, 65.7 meter structure near Boyukshor Lake, Baku, Azerbaijan, opened on 6 March 2015.[2] The main tenant of the stadium is Azerbaijan's national football team, who moved from their previous home at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium. In June 2015 the stadium served as the main venue for the European Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, and the athletic games. The venue is intended to host the quarterfinals and three of the group games for UEFA Euro 2020. A green area is being developed around the stadium, which is accessible via public transport.

History

The foundation ceremony

The foundation of the Baku Olympic Stadium was laid on June 6, 2011 in a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of Azerbaijani football.

The ceremony was attended by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva, and FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini, prominent members of the global football community, heads of various federations, football veterans and other guests. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was informed about the future plans for the construction of the stadium. Speaking at the ceremony, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said:

"This is really beautiful, grand building, and more than 60 thousand football fans coming to the stadium will be able to enjoy football."

Ilham Aliyev placed a symbolic metal capsule inside a football. His son Heydar Aliyev, scoring a goal in a symbolic gate, dropped the ball into the foundation. The President, with Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, operated a switch starting the concrete pour, and signed a soccer ball, which was preserved in memory of the ceremony.

Construction

Despite the groundbreaking ceremony has taken place in 2011, the construction of the stadium started only in November 2012 with the excavation and backfilling of the stadium area.

The stadium was completed on February 28, 2015, and the opening took place on March 6, 2015, President Ilham Aliyev participated in the opening ceremony.

The contributors to the project were State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and TEKFEN Construction and Installation Co., INC.

The total layout of the stadium is 617,000m² and has a capacity for 68,000 people. It is also six stories tall.

Baku was ready to host the first ever European Games in 2015. Olympic Stadium Project was seen as the most important and prestigious project undertaken by Azerbaijan for the games. Main Stadium layout area is 87,000m², Total Confined Space 215,000m², Maximum Height from ground 60m².

Construction of the stadium in Baku

The project was funded by the SOCAR. A Turkish company Tekfen Construction and Installation Co.,Inc, were given a Design&Build contract.[3][4]

Along with the stadium, there were built a number of hotels, parking venue (3,617 car places), and green space (81,574 square meters).[5]

Stadium contains VVIP, VIP - CIP Suites total 127 each with 720 spectator's capacity, total special area of interior 25,200m² and Total Car Parking Area Capacity 3,078 cars. 1,800 Seating Capacity Warm Up Area, MEP Building, Info Centre and Two External Buildings are other building of Projects.

Events

Baku Stadium

The stadium hosted athletics and ceremonies during 2015 European Games.

The Stadium hosted all of Qarabag's Champions League group stage matches in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League.

Notable matches

Qarabağ playing against Roma at Baku Olympic Stadium during the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League.
Date Result Competition Attendance
27 September 2017Azerbaijan Qarabağ1–2Italy RomaUEFA Champions League group stage67,200
22 November 2017Azerbaijan Qarabağ0–4England ChelseaUEFA Champions League group stage67,100
10 October 2015Azerbaijan Azerbaijan1–3Italy ItalyUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying48,000
18 October 2017Azerbaijan Qarabağ0–0Spain Atlético MadridUEFA Champions League group stage47,923
8 October 2016Azerbaijan Azerbaijan1–0Norway Norway2018 FIFA World Cup qualification35,000

See also

References

  1. ↑ stadium
  2. ↑ "БАКИНСКИЙ ОЛИМПИЙСКИЙ СТАДИОН СДАН В ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИЮ". rekord.az (in Russian). Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Bakıda böyük stadion tikintisi planlaşdırılır (in Azerbaijani)
  4. ↑ Ölkədə ən böyük stadionun tikintisinə başlanacaq (in Azerbaijani)
  5. ↑ "Bakıdakı yeni stadionda 41 lift və 3617 avtomobil 7 dayanacaq olacaq". Ayna.az. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
Preceded by
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon		 UEFA Europa League
Final Venue
2019		 Succeeded by
Stadion Energa Gdańsk
Gdańsk

Coordinates: 40°25′47″N 49°55′11″E / 40.429766°N 49.91979°E / 40.429766; 49.91979

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