Darius and Girėnas Stadium
| Ąžuolynas stadium | |
 | |
| Full name | Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas Stadium |
|---|---|
| Former names | State Stadium |
| Location | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Coordinates | 54°53′50″N 23°56′13″E / 54.89722°N 23.93694°ECoordinates: 54°53′50″N 23°56′13″E / 54.89722°N 23.93694°E |
| Owner | Kaunas city municipality |
| Capacity | 8,248[1] |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1923-1925 |
| Opened | 1925 |
| Renovated | 1998, 2005 |
| Expanded | 1935-1936, 1969-1979 |
| Tenants | |
|
Lithuania national football team FBK Kaunas Lithuanian Athletics Federation | |
S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium is a multi-use stadium in the Ąžuolynas park in Žaliakalnis district of Kaunas, Lithuania. The all-seater stadium holds 8,248. In 1998 the stadium was renovated according to UEFA regulations, and in 2005 it was modernised with the installation of the biggest stadium television screen in the Baltic states.
The first stadium in this place was designed and established by Steponas Darius and Kęstutis Bulota in 1923, and completed in 1925. 1935-1936 the stadium was renovated and named the State Stadium. Starting in 1969 the stadium underwent another reconstruction that lasted for 10 years until August 1979. Wooden tribunes were replaced with reinforced concrete structures and placed in a half circle.
After Lithuania regained independence, in 1993 the stadium was named after the Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas, who perished in a crash near the end of an attempted non-stop flight from New York to Lithuania. The site is currently the home ground of the Lithuania national football team and football club FBK Kaunas. It is a part of the S. Darius and S. Girėnas sport center, which also includes the nearby Kaunas Sports Hall, built in 1939.
July 2010 talks began, that the stadium is the cheapest to modernize and to be used as National football stadium for another 5 years to come.[2] Two thirds of the renovation costs were proposed to be provided by Lithuanian Football Federation.
References
- ↑ http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/FirstDiv/uefaorg/Publications/01/67/03/93/1670393_DOWNLOAD.pdf
- ↑ "Kaunui veriasi galimybė turėti nacionalinį futbolo stadioną". Vakarų Ekspresas (in Lithuanian). 2 July 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
Events
The S. Darius and S. Girėnas stadium is a venue where Lithuanian international football matches are played, it is also a place of international athletics championships. During a sporting season about 50 events are held here.