Ion Oblemenco Stadium

Ion Oblemenco Stadium
UEFA
Map
Address36 Boulevard Știrbei Vodă
LocationCraiova, Romania
Coordinates44°18′50″N 23°47′03″E / 44.3140°N 23.7843°E / 44.3140; 23.7843
OwnerMunicipality of Craiova
OperatorUniversitatea Craiova
Capacity30,983 [4]
Field size105 m × 68 m (115 yd × 74 yd)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground7 September 2015
Built2015–2017
Opened10 November 2017
Construction cost€52 million[1][2]
(€58 million in 2021 euros)[3]
ArchitectDico și Țigănaș
Tenants
CS Universitatea Craiova (2017–present)
Romania national football team (2018-present)
FC U Craiova (2021–present)

The Ion Oblemenco Stadium is a football stadium in Craiova, Romania. The all-seater stadium opened in 2017 and has a capacity of 30,983, the fourth largest football ground in Romania. It is in the immediate vicinity of the new Sala Polivalentă. The ground is named after Ion Oblemenco (1945–1996), a legendary player and coach of Universitatea Craiova.[5]

The stadium ranked fourth overall among stadiums in the world opened in 2017 surpassing expectations, ranking higher than Wanda Metropolitano and Gazprom Arena.[6][7] On 26 February, 2018, the Stadionul Ion Oblemenco was selected as a finalist from 27 submissions by the jury.[8] Architects generally agreed that the outcome was satisfying, with decent investment results.[9]

History

Construction began on September 7, 2015. The older stadium was demolished in the same year.[10] On 26 April, 2017, the construction reached its final phase, with seats being installed.[11]

To celebrate the opening of the stadium, Universitatea Craiova played a friendly on 10 November, 2017 against the Czech side Slavia Prague. A crowd of 30,000 people attended.[12][13]

The stadium officially opened with a ceremony on 18 November, 2017 before its first competitive senior game, the Liga I match against Juventus București. The match was won by Universitatea Craiova 3–1, with Alexandru Mitriță scoring the first ever official goal at the new stadium.[14]

Events

International football games

International football matches
Date Competition Home Away Score Attendance
27 March 2018 Friendly Romania Romania Sweden Sweden 1 - 0 20,000
16 August 2018 UEFA Europa League 3QR Romania Universitatea Craiova Germany RB Leipzig 1 - 1 12,050
18 July 2019 UEFA Europa League 1QR Romania Universitatea Craiova Azerbaijan Sabail FK 3 - 2 15,763
1 August 2019 UEFA Europa League 2QR Romania Universitatea Craiova Hungary Budapest Honvéd 0 - 0 22,134
8 August 2019 UEFA Europa League 3QR Romania Universitatea Craiova Greece AEK Athens 0 - 2 2,530 (only the children were allowed)
29 July 2021 UEFA Europa Conference League 2QR Romania Universitatea Craiova Albania KF Laçi 0 - 0 0 (Covid regulations)
28 July 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League 2QR Romania Universitatea Craiova Albania Vllaznia 3 - 0 12,324
11 August 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League 3QR Romania Universitatea Craiova Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 3 - 0 15,079
  • External view of the stadium
    External view of the stadium
  • Ion Oblemenco Stadium parking lots
    Ion Oblemenco Stadium parking lots
  • Fan choreography stadium overview
    Fan choreography stadium overview
  • Internal view of the stadium
    Internal view of the stadium

See also

References

  1. ^ Descriere. CNI.com.ro
  2. ^ Stadionul Ion Oblemenco, inaugurat.. digi24.ro
  3. ^ Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices: All Items for Romania
  4. ^ "Stadionul „Ion Oblemenco": unul din cele 8 stadioane de design din România". Igloo. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Cum a murit Ion Oblemenco. Au trecut 21 de ani fără "Tunarul din Bănie"" [How Ion Oblemenco died. 21 years have passed without "Tunarul from Bănie"] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Stadium of the Year 2017". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Surpriză uriașă! Ce loc a ocupat stadionul "Ion Oblemenco" din Craiova în topul final al celor mai frumoase stadioane din lume" (in Romanian). Antena 1. 8 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Stadium of the Year 2017: Meet the Jury Award finalists!". stadiumdb.com. 26 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Stadionul Ion Oblemenco". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  10. ^ A început construcția noului stadion „Oblemenco”. Olguța: Lucrările durează mai puțin decât documentația!. oltenasul.ro
  11. ^ Au apărut imagini noi de pe stadionul "Ion Oblemenco" » Jucătorii au planuri mari: "Visez să marchez primul gol pentru CSU Craiova pe noua arenă". gsp.ro
  12. ^ LIVE TEXT CS U Craiova - Slavia Praga 0-0. Atmosferă magnifică pe noul ”OZN” din Bănie!. digisport.ro
  13. ^ "Inaugurare SF pentru OZN-ul Craiovei" (in Romanian). ProSport. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  14. ^ "CS U Craiova - Juventus 3-1" (in Romanian). digisport.ro. 18 November 2017.