Qemal Stafa Stadium
| Qemal Stafa Stadium | |
|---|---|
| "Djalli" ("devil") | |
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| The Qemal Stafa Stadium from the north (May 2010) | |
| Data | |
| place | Sheshi Italia 1001 Tirana , Albania
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| Coordinates | 41 ° 19 '6.1 " N , 19 ° 49' 26.1" E |
| owner | Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit |
| operator | Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit |
| start of building | August 1939 |
| opening | October 7, 1946 |
| First game | October 7, 1946 Albania - Yugoslavia 2: 3 |
| Renovations | 1991, 1996, 2008 |
| Extensions | 1974 |
| demolition | 2016 |
| architect | Gherardo Bosio |
| capacity | 16,230 seats |
| playing area | 105 m × 68 m |
| Societies) | |
| Events | |
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The Qemal Stafa Stadium ( Albanian Stadiumi i Qemal Stafës or Stadiumi Qemal Stafa , often shortened just Qemal Stafa ) was a football stadium with an athletics facility in the Albanian capital Tirana . The construction from 1939 was canceled in 2016 to make way for a new building, the Arena Kombëtare ( German National Arena ). The national stadium was mostly used for soccer games and occasionally for athletics competitions. The venue had 16,230 seats and was the largest stadium in the country.
history
With Italian help, construction of the stadium began in 1939. The construction was not completed until after the Second World War . It was later expanded and renovated several times.
The opening game took place on October 7, 1946 as part of the Balkan Cup . The Albanian played against the Yugoslav national football team . The stadium was named after the partisan and politician Qemal Stafa (1920–1942). The two football teams KS Dinamo Tirana and FK Partizani Tirana traditionally played their home games in the Qemal Stafa Stadium, where most of the international matches were played. The stadium was also called the devil by supporters of the national team because the Albanian national soccer team often plays strong at home.
New building
In 2010 the government and the Albanian Football Association announced a renovation of the stadium. A new building for 33,000 spectators was to be built by November 2012 and Albania's 100th Independence Day. The Spanish architecture firm RFA Fenwick Iribarren Architects was to lead the stadium construction; the new building should take the shape of the land. The costs were originally supposed to amount to 30 million euros, the state wanted to contribute a third and the remaining 20 million would be shared by FSHF , FIFA and UEFA . A few months later, however, there was talk of 60 million euros. A scaled-down project was presented at the beginning of 2013.
Eventually both projects were canceled and in February 2014 it was announced that Manica Architecture had won the contract for the new building. The new building should meet the criteria of Category 4 of the UEFA Stadium Infrastructure Regulations . At the same time, modernization work began on the Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadium in Elbasan , which was converted into the modern Elbasan Arena . From October 2014, the Albanian national soccer team held their games there on a provisional basis. The planned demolition work on the Qemal-Stafa-Stadion was still a long time coming, so that national matches will continue to be played in the Qemal-Stafa-Stadion, such as the championship games in May 2015, the final of the soccer cup .
Another new project was announced in April 2016 and implementation will soon begin. The new building for 22,000 spectators also included a hotel tower, shops and restaurants. The costs amounted to 75 million euros and are to be financed through mixed use without the participation of the state. Demolition work on the stadium began in June 2016 after the groundbreaking ceremony for the project was first announced for May. The official opening of the Air Albania Stadium took place on November 17, 2019 during the international match against France.
Pictures of the old stadium
 
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Location of the stadium within Tirana |
Close-up of the opposite stand
Facade of the main stand
View into the stadium
Web links
- stadiumdb.com: Stadiumi Kombëtar Qemal Stafa - until 2016 (English)
- stadiumdb.com: Stadium design from 2010 (English)
- stadiumdb.com: Stadium design from 2016 (English)
- europlan-online.de: Stadiumi Kombëtar Qemal Stafa - Tiranë (Tirana)
- manicaarchitecture.com: Project description of Manica Architecture (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ First Division Clubs in Europe. (PDF, 6.34 MB) In: Official website of UEFA. Retrieved May 24, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Benet Koleka: Albania to build new national stadium. In: Reuters. February 9, 2011, accessed October 5, 2012 .
- ↑ Balkan Cup. In: RSSSF. Retrieved May 24, 2014 .
- ^ "Qemal Stafa" bëhet ekstra-modern. In: Koha.net. October 1, 2010, accessed December 24, 2010 (Albanian).
- ↑ Stadiumi i ri ndizet "drita jeshile". In: sportnet.al. February 3, 2011, archived from the original on September 19, 2012 ; Retrieved February 3, 2011 (Albanian).
- ^ Qemal Stafa i ri 20 mijë vendësh. In: Gazeta e Sportit. February 27, 2013, archived from the original on January 28, 2014 ; Retrieved January 29, 2014 (Albanian).
- ^ Stadium "Qemal Stafa", project. In: Peshku pa ujë. May 22, 2014, accessed May 24, 2014 (Albanian).
- ↑ Laçi fiton Kupen e Shqiperise 2015. (No longer available online.) In: FSHF. May 30, 2015, archived from the original on June 3, 2015 ; Retrieved May 31, 2015 (Albanian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ AP: Albania to build a new 22,300-seat stadium. In: USA Today. April 21, 2016, accessed April 22, 2016 .
- ↑ Rinald Bregasi: Prezantohet projekti i stadiumit të ri "Qemal Stafa". (No longer available online.) In: SuperSport. April 21, 2014, archived from the original on June 14, 2017 ; Retrieved April 22, 2016 (Albanian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Photo nga prishja e Stadiumit Qemal Stafa - Pa koment. In: Exit. June 14, 2016, Retrieved June 15, 2016 (Albanian).
- ↑ stadionwelt.de: National Stadium: Date for groundbreaking published article of April 22, 2016
- ↑ Vllaznia Apolonia, shtyhet për një Jave ndeshja e kampionatit të femrave. In: Albanian Football Association. November 1, 2019, accessed November 3, 2019 (Albanian).
