Ghencea Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Stadionul Ghencea | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | B-dul Ghencea, Nr. 35, Sector 5, Bucureşti, Romania |
| Opened | April 9, 1974 |
| Owner | Ministry of National Defence of Romania |
| Operator | Steaua Bucharest |
| Surface | Grass |
| Tenants | |
| Steaua Bucharest (Liga 1) (1974- present) |
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| Capacity | |
| 28,123 (Football) | |
Ghencea Stadium (or Ghencea) (Romanian: Stadionul Ghencea) is a football stadium in Bucharest, Romania, home of FC Steaua Bucharest. Also called Steaua Stadium, it was inaugurated in April 9, 1974 when Steaua Bucharest played a friendly game against OFK Belgrade. At the time it was one of the first football-only stadiums ever built in Romania, as there are no athletic (track and field) facilities, the stands are very closed to the pitch.
The original capacity was 30,000, however in 1991 when the plastic seats where installed, the capacity dropped to 28,000.
The floodlighting system, with a density of 1400 luces, has been inaugurated in 1991. A general renovation followed in 1996 and another one in 2006 in order to host UEFA Champions League games.
As of October 1, 2006 the stadium is completely renovated (a four-star establishment with all the facilities required for the team, internet for the press-room, 17 cameras for video surveillance, electrically heated pitch, an automated irrigation system, and a modern scoreboard capable of playing replays), becoming the only stadium in Romania which is able to host UEFA Champions League games. In October 2006, Steaua officials met the representatives of the company that built Allianz Arena, as a doubling of the stadium capacity is planned.
Romania is also a tenant. The first game the national team played in Ghencea was in March 1977 against Turkey. Since then other 58 games were played, the last one in October 2006 against Belarus. Here is a picture from that match:
[edit] The Most Important Games played on Ghencea Stadium
- April 9, 1974 - Steaua Bucharest vs. OFK Belgrade 2 : 2. A friendly game, the first ever played on Ghencea Stadium.
- March 23, 1977 - Romania vs. Turkey 4 : 0. A Balcanic Cup game. The first game played by Romania on Ghencea Stadium.
- April 16, 1986 - Steaua Bucharest vs. RSC Anderlecht 3 : 0. European Cup semifinal. Following this win, Steaua qualified for the European Cup final.
- April 6, 1988 - Steaua Bucharest vs. SL Benfica 0 : 0. European Cup semifinal.
- April 5, 1989 - Steaua Bucharest vs. Galatasaray Istanbul 4 : 0. European Cup semifinal. An important win for Steaua which virtually opened the door to the European Cup final.
- November 15, 1989 - Romania vs. Denmark 3 : 1. Following this win, Romania qualified to 1990 FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup Romania attended in twenty years.
- September 28, 1991 - Steaua Bucharest vs. FCM Bacău 4 : 1. A Divizia A game, in which occasion the floodlighting system was inaugurated.
- February 25, 2005 - Steaua Bucharest vs. Valencia CF 2 : 0. Steaua won 4-3 on penalty shootout, and thus Steaua Bucharest qualified for the Round of 16 of the UEFA Cup. Many consider this game, the most important win of the past 15 years, marking the beginning of "a new era" for the Romanian side.
