March 28 Stadium
Construction work in the stadium in 1967.
A view of the former stadium at night, before it was closed for redevelopment.
March 28 Stadium (Arabic: ملعب 28 مارس) is a multi-purpose stadium in Benghazi, Libya. Also known as
'Sports City Stadium' It is a part of Benghazi Sports City. It was used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities. The stadium holds 65,000. The stadium is sometimes used by the Libya national football team although it is not as popular a choice as the June 11 Stadium in Tripoli.
The name of the stadium commemorates 28 March, in which British Forces were asked to relinquish their military base rights in Libya and leave the country.
Along with June 11 Stadium in Tripoli, the 28 March Stadium hosted many games, including a semi-final, of the 1982 African Cup of Nations held in Libya.
New stadium
An artist's impression of the new stadium exterior.
As of 2013, the stadium will be closed, and demolition work will begin for the construction of a new stadium. The new stadium will be an 85,000 all seater stadium. Thomas Phifer and Partners, a New York based architectural firm won the international competition for the design of the stadium.[1] The construction work is part of a general restructuring of the entire Medina al-Riyadhia (Sports City) site or what is about to be called " The Arena" in the honour of the Libyan multi-millionaire owner Musbah for saving the club from all their debts, in which another all seater stadium will be built. Construction work was expected to finished in time for Libya's hosting of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations,[2][3] prior to its hosting of the tournament being cancelled in August 2014. Whilst construction has been taking place, Benghazi's football clubs have been using the Martyrs of February Stadium.
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Coordinates: 32°6′6.5″N 20°4′20.7″E / 32.101806°N 20.072417°E / 32.101806; 20.072417
