Arena Națională

Arena Națională (Romanian pronunciation: [aˈrena nat͡sjoˈnalə]) is a retractable roof football stadium in Bucharest, Romania, which opened in 2011, on the site of the original Stadionul Național, which was demolished from 2007 to 2008. The stadium hosts major football matches including home matches of the Romania national football team, and the Cupa României Final. The stadium is also the home of Liga I football clubs FCSB and Dinamo București.

This article is about the stadium opened in 2011. For the original stadium it replaced, see Stadionul Național (1953). For the 20,000-seat indoor arena under construction, see Arena Polivalentă (2022).

Arena Națională
UEFA
Location37 Basarabia Blvd., Sector 2, Bucharest, Romania
Coordinates44°26′13.95″N 26°09′09.03″E
OwnerMunicipality of Bucharest
Executive suites42
Capacity55,634 (football)[1]
Record attendance53,329 (Romania v Netherlands,
16 October 2012)
Field size105 x 68 m[2]
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground20 February 2008
Opened6 September 2011
Construction cost€234 million[3]
(€331 million in 2019 euros)[4]
ArchitectGerkan, Marg and Partners
Main contractorsMax Bögl
Astaldi
Tenants
Romania national football team (2011-present)
FCSB (2015-present)
Dinamo București (some matches)
Rapid București (UEFA matches)
Website
Official website

With 55,634 seats, it is the largest football stadium in Romania. Designed by Gerkan, Marg and Partners, the stadium was built by German firm Max Bögl and Italian firm Astaldi. The stadium has a retractable roof.

A UEFA category four stadium, Arena Națională hosted the 2012 UEFA Europa League Final,[5] and will host four games at UEFA Euro 2020 (including the quarter-finals).[6] The stadium also hosts music concerts.

Construction

The old stadium was demolished between 18 December 2007 and 20 February 2008, although a symbolic removal of seats took place on 21 November 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.[7] On 8 October 2009, it was decided that the stadium should also include a retractable roof worth €20,000,000.[8]

Construction was temporarily halted in December 2009 due to unfavorable weather conditions.[9]

Facilities

The venue holds 55,634 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. It is also endowed with a floodlight system and 2100 parking spaces.[10] The roof design is very similar to that of the National Stadium in Warsaw. These two stadiums also have a similar capacity and age.

A panoramic view of the stadium

Usage

The National Stadium is a Category 4 venue and as such, it hosted the UEFA Europa League 2011–12 final, as announced by UEFA at Nyon on 29 January 2009.[11] 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.[10]

History
Romania-France opening match
2012 UEFA Europa League Final

The official inauguration was initially scheduled for 10 August 2011, and was to feature a football match between Romania and Argentina.[12]

However, on 26 July, Argentina officially cancelled the friendly match after their manager Sergio Batista departed the team, so the stadium was instead inaugurated on 6 September 2011, with a UEFA Euro 2012 Group D qualifier match between Romania and France.[13] The game ended 0–0 in front of a crowd of 49,137.

Notable high audience matches

The highest audience for a football game was achieved at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match between Romania and Netherlands, hosted on 16 October 2012, which brought 53,329 people to the stadium.[13][14]

The 2nd highest audience was achieved at the UEFA Europa League Final hosted on 9 May 2012. The game between the two Spanish teams, Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, brought 52,347 people to the stadium.[15]

Association Football
Notes
  1. ^
    The match was played behind closed doors due to punishment by UEFA.

Romania national football team matches

On 6 September 2011, the Romanian national football team, played the opening match against the French team which ended with a goalless draw, after Argentina cancelled the official inauguration, a friendly match between Romania and Argentina on 10 August 2011.

Nr Competition Date Opponent Attendance Result Scorers for Romania
1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying 6 September 2011  France 49,137 0 – 0 -
2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying 7 October 2011  Belarus 29,846 2 – 2 2 x Adrian Mutu
3 Friendly 29 January 2012  Uruguay 15,000 1 – 1 Bogdan Stancu
4 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 11 September 2012  Andorra 24,630 4 – 0 Gabriel Torje, Costin Lazăr, Valerică Găman, Alexandru Maxim
5 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 16 October 2012  Netherlands 53,329 1 – 4 Ciprian Marica
6 Friendly 14 November 2012  Belgium 5,000 2 – 1 Alexandru Maxim, Gabriel Torje
7 Friendly 4 June 2013  Trinidad and Tobago 10,128 4 – 0 3 x Ciprian Marica
8 Friendly 14 August 2013  Slovakia 6,738 1 – 1 Bogdan Stancu
9 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 6 September 2013  Hungary 41,405 3 – 0 Ciprian Marica, Mihai Pintilii, Cristian Tănase
10 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 10 September 2013  Turkey 44,357 0 – 2 -
11 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 15 October 2013  Estonia 18,852 2 – 0 2 x Ciprian Marica
12 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 19 November 2013  Greece 49,793 1 – 1 -
13 Friendly 5 March 2014  Argentina 45,034 0 – 0 -
14 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying 11 October 2014  Hungary 50,085 1 – 1 Raul Rusescu
15 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying 14 November 2014  Northern Ireland 28,892 2 – 0 2 x Paul Papp
16 Friendly 18 November 2014  Denmark 10,000 2 – 0 2 x Claudiu Keșerü
17 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying 7 September 2015  Greece 38,153 0 – 0 -
18 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying 8 October 2015  Finland 47,987 1 – 1 Ovidiu Hoban
19 Friendly 3 June 2016  Georgia 27,937 5 – 1 Adrian Popa, Nicolae Stanciu, Gabriel Torje, Claudiu Keșerü
20 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification 11 November 2016  Poland 48,531 0 – 3 -
21 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification 1 September 2017  Armenia 27,178 1 – 0 Alexandru Maxim
22 Friendly 14 November 2017  Netherlands 26,000 0 – 3 -
23 2018–19 UEFA Nations League 14 October 2018  Serbia 48,513 0 – 0 -
24 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying 5 September 2019  Spain 29,854 1 – 2 Florin Andone
25 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying 15 October 2019  Norway 49,678 1 – 1 Alexandru Mitriță

Euro 2021 matches

Arena Națională is one of the stadiums that will host matches for UEFA Euro 2020. Three Group C matches and a Round of 16 will be played there (the other matches in that group will be played at the Johan Cruyff Arena).

The following matches will be played at the stadium during the UEFA Euro 2020:

DateTime (EEST)Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundScorersAttendance
13 June 202121:00 Austria–C4Group C––
17 June 202115:00 Ukraine–C4Group C––
21 June 202118:00 Ukraine- AustriaGroup C––
28 June 2021–Winner Group F–3rd Group A/B/CRound of 16––

Concerts
Concerts at Arena Națională
DateArtistTourAttendance
31 August 2012 Red Hot Chili Peppers I'm with You World Tour 47,000
15 May 2013 Depeche Mode Delta Machine Tour 34,729
17 June 2017 Kings of Leon WALLS TOUR 35,000
3 July 2019 Ed Sheeran ÷ Tour 48,044
14 August 2019 Metallica WorldWired Tour 50,319
25 July 2021 Celine Dion Courage World Tour [16] N/A

Transport

The stadium is served by public transport with buses, trolleybuses, trams and the subway system.

See also

References
  1. Am cucerit Europa şi-n tribune! » Steaua - Chelsea a fost urmărit de cei mai mulţi suporteri dintre meciurile din optimile Europa League
  2. Finalizarea Arenei Naționale Archived 22 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Național Arena costa 119 milioane de euro și a ajuns la 234!
  4. Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices: All Items for Romania
  5. "Naţional Arena - primul stadion din România care va găzdui o finală de cupă europeană" (in Romanian). Mediafax. 29 January 2009.
  6. "Cum poți cumpăra bilete pentru Euro 2020! 4 meciuri se vor juca pe Arena Națională" (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 12 June 2019.
  7. "Oprescu atacă: "Lucrările la stadionul 'Național' sunt în întârziere cu 20 de săptămâni"" (in Romanian). Prosport. 22 May 2009.
  8. "Stadionul Național va avea acoperiș retractabil de 20 milioane euro" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 14 October 2009.
  9. "Oprescu: "Stadionul Național va fi gata în decembrie 2010!"" (in Romanian).
  10. "TRIMIŞI AI FORULUI DE LA NYON AU FOST ACUM DOUĂ SĂPTĂMÎNI LA BUCUREŞTI » Ultimatum UEFA" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 14 January 2010.
  11. "2012 final: National Stadium, Bucharest". UEFA.
  12. "De acum e sigur, România - Argentina se va juca pe 11 august 2011" (in Romanian). GSP TV. 26 October 2010.
  13. "Mircea Sandu: "Facem inaugurarea stadionului Național cu Franța"" (in Romanian). Evenimentul Zilei. 30 July 2011.
  14. "Romania vs Netherlands - 16 octombrie 2012 - Soccerway". Ro.soccerway.com. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  15. Atlético Madrid-Athletic Bilbao
  16. https://www.celinedion.com/in-concert/
Preceded by
Aviva Stadium
Dublin		 UEFA Europa League
Final venue
2012		 Succeeded by
Amsterdam Arena
Amsterdam
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