Arena Națională
The National Arena (Romanian: Arena Națională) is a retractable roof football stadium in Bucharest, Romania. It opened in 2011 on the site of the original National Stadium, which was demolished between 2007 and 2008. The stadium hosts major football matches including home matches of the Romania National Football Team, and usually Romanian Cup Final. With 55,634 seats, it is the largest stadium in Romania.
UEFA | |
Location | 37 Basarabia Blvd., Sector 2, Bucharest, Romania |
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Coordinates | 44°26′14″N 26°09′09″E |
Owner | Municipality of Bucharest |
Executive suites | 42 |
Capacity | 55,634 (football) |
Record attendance | 53,329 (Romania vs Netherlands, 16 October 2012) |
Field size | 105 x 68 m |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 20 February 2008 |
Opened | September 6, 2011 |
Construction cost | €234 million (€338 million in 2021 euros) |
Architect | Gerkan, Marg and Partners |
Main contractors | Max Bögl Astaldi |
Tenants | |
Romania National Football Team (2011–present) FCSB (2015–present) Rapid București (2021–2022) |
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 which covers the playing surface.
In addition to Romania home games and the Romanian Cup final, the stadium also hosts other major games in Romanian football, including the season-opening Supercupa României. A UEFA category four stadium, the National Arena hosted the 2012 UEFA Europa League Final, and four games at UEFA Euro 2020 (including the Round of 16 match between France and Switzerland, ended in a 3–3 draw, with Switzerland defeating France 5–4 at penalties). The stadium has also been used as the venue for The International 2021, the annual Dota 2 world championship esports tournament. Arena Națională has hosted concerts by Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode, and Ed Sheeran.
It is currently the home ground of FCSB and was also temporarily used by FC Rapid București between 2021 and 2022 as its traditional ground was being rebuilt. FC Dinamo București also plays some select matches here.