Vasil Levski National Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Vasil Levski National Stadium | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Coordinates | 42°41′15.30″N 23°20′7.60″E / 42.687583°N 23.335444°ECoordinates: 42°41′15.30″N 23°20′7.60″E / 42.687583°N 23.335444°E |
| Opened | 1953 |
| Renovated | 1966, 2002 |
| Owner | SAYS (State Agency for Youth and Sport) |
| Operator | SAYS (State Agency for Youth and Sport) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Architect | Kano Dundakov |
| Capacity | 43,632 |
| Field dimensions | 105 X 68 |
| Tenants | |
| Bulgaria national football team |
|
Vasil Levski National Stadium (Bulgarian: Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski, is one of Bulgaria's largest sports venues and the country's largest stadium. The stadium has 43,632 seats and is located in the centre of Sofia.
Vasil Levski National Stadium was officially opened in 1953 and reconstructed in 1966 and 2002. It is currently eligible to host Europa League final matches, because it has a Elite ranking[citation needed] by UEFA. The Bulgaria national football team's home matches and the Bulgarian Cup finals are held at the venue, as well as athletics competitions. It was also used as the home venue for Levski Sofia's Champions League games.
On the place of this stadium, before it was built, stood the stadium of Levski Sofia and Yunak Stadium, also spelled Junak Stadium, used for the national team matches before its demolition. After the Communists came to power in 1944, both stadiums were demolished, and on its place today's National Stadium has been built. This stadium had a capacity of 15,000 spectators.
The stadium offers also judo, artistic gymnastics, basketball, boxing, aerobics, fencing and table tennis halls, as well as a general physical training hall, two conference halls and three restaurants. It hosted the 1957 European basketball championship.[1]
It was the proposed venue for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Sofia's bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Metallica held one of the most successful concerts in Bulgaria on the stadium as part of theyr 2008 European Vacation Tour. There was at least 50 000 people attending[2].
American superstar Madonna had a very successful concert here as part of the European second leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour on August 29, 2009. She performed in front of 54 000 people [3] and was warmly welcomed by her numerous fans. After the show grass was badly damaged. Even though many accused Madonna's concert for that, it turned out to be poor maintenance that caused this problem. Nevertheless, the field was ready for the next football game.
A large park behind the stadium includes venues for tennis and football, as well as playgrounds and walking paths. The park includes dozens of monuments to famous Bulgarians, including such as notables as Vasil Levski, Dimitar Talev, Dimitar Dimov, Georgi Karaslavov, and Yordan Yovkov.
[edit] References
| Preceded by 1955 Final Venue Budapest |
Eurobasket Final Venue 1957 |
Succeeded by 1959 Final Venue Istanbul |
