Donbass Arena

Donbass Arena or Donbas Arena (Ukrainian: Донба́с Аре́на [donˈbɑs ɑˈrɛnɑ], Russian: Донба́сc Аре́на) is a stadium with a natural grass pitch in Donetsk, Ukraine (under occupation by the Donetsk People's Republic) that opened on 29 August 2009. The facility is located in the center of the city, in the Lenin Comsomol park. With a capacity of 52,518 spectators, the stadium used to host FC Shakhtar Donetsk matches and hosted some matches of Euro 2012. The final cost of construction for Donbass Arena was $400M. The stadium has been closed since 2014 due to the War in Donbass.

The name of the stadium represents the simplified and shortened name of the Donets Basin – Don bas (in Ukrainian language: Донецький басейн or Донбас).

Construction and design

Construction began in 2006. The general contractor was a Turkish company ENKA. The Stadium was completed and opened in 2009. About 1600 specialists, mainly Turkish, were involved in the construction.

Donbass Arena was designed by ArupSport. It was Project Managed by Arup Major Projects (Project Director Charles Goddard). Arup Sport also designed the City of Manchester Stadium (Manchester, England), Allianz Arena (Munich, Germany) and the Beijing National Stadium (Beijing, China). The soaring roof effect makes the Stadium resemble a flying saucer. The stadium has an oval shape and a glazed façade and is located near Regional Sport Complex Olimpiyskiy. The roof of the stadium slopes from north to south matching the landscape and contributing to the natural lighting and airing of the pitch. The external lighting makes the Stadium shine at night. A major design consideration was the ongoing protection of as much of the forest setting as possible (each tree having been planted in commemoration of deceased family members in the Great Patriotic War, and the exclusion zones to the neighbouring war memorials. A major geotechnical fault exists some 100m below the ground directly under the centre-spot. The building's foundations and piling was a major sub-project.

Opening

The Donbass Arena was completed ahead of schedule, but the grand opening was delayed until 29 August 2009 to coincide with the Ukrainian holiday of Miners Day, as well as Donetsk City day. Donetsk is in the Donbass region, a mining region, and the date was chosen for its symbolism. The primary tenant of the facility is football club Shakhtar Donetsk ("Donetsk Coal Miners").

American Pop/R&B singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles performed a show from her I Am... Tour on the opening night of the new stadium. It was Knowles' first performance in Ukraine. Beyoncé performed her famous hit Halo to honour the memory of Michael Jackson, who would have had his birthday on that day.

Many state officials attended the show designed by K-events Filmmaster Group. The opening ceremony was awarded as Event of the Year at the Stadium Business Awards on June 18, 2010 in Dublin.

Shakhtar Donetsk's first match at the stadium was a 4–0 victory in a Ukrainian Premier League 2009–10 Round 8 fixture on 27 September 2009 against FC Obolon Kyiv. The first international game took place on November 18, 2009 against Greece, which Ukraine lost 0–1 failing to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

2014 conflict in Ukraine

On 20 May 2014 the stadium hosted a small "Peace March" against the violence of the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine and the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

On 22 August 2014 the stadium was damaged by what was reported to be artillery shelling, as the Ukrainian armed forces clashed with pro-Russian separatists for control of the town.

On 20 October 2014 the stadium was again damaged by what was reported to be artillery shelling. The stadium sustained damage to the east and west sides and at least one large glass panel fell near a young girl. Due to the ongoing conflict in Donetsk, Shakhtar moved all home games to Lviv (in the west) in 2014 before moving to the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv (183 miles to the north of Donetsk) in early 2017. Additionally, the club's administrative headquarters and player training sessions have been shifted to Kyiv. Despite the conflict, the stadium is slowly being repaired. On 31 May 2018, the field turf was successfully restored.

Facts

• 7,668 m² (82,538 sq ft) natural turf will be used with 2,201 m² (23,691 sq ft) synthetic turf
• The total area of the construction site (including mobilization areas) is 254,907 m²
• The land (including pitch), where the Stadium is located, is 46,780 m²
• The height of the new stadium is 54m from pitch level to the top of the roof.
• There are 227 lavatories with 471 toilets and 333 wash basins.
• Over 120,000 m³ of concrete were poured during construction of the Stadium
• Approximately 4,300 tonnes of steel were used for construction
• Approximately 3,800 tonnes of steel were used for the roof structure.
• Total glazing area is approximately 24,000 m²
• The total area of the tiers is approximately 70,000 m²
• The size of the football field is 105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Donbass Arena" and modified on 23 July 2019 under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license.