Čair Stadium ( sr-cyr, Стадион Чаир, ''Stadion Čair'') is a
multi-purpose stadium in
Niš,
Serbia. It is used mostly for
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
matches and is the home ground of
Radnički Niš. After a partial reconstruction that began in 2011, the renovated stadium re-opened to the public on 15 September 2012. The stadium is part of the Čair Sports Complex, which also includes an indoor swimming pool and an
indoor arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
.
History
The stadium was built in 1963 and had an original capacity of 40,001 spectators.
A complete reconstruction began during the second half of 2011 in an ambitious project by the Football Association of Serbia and the city of
Niš to replace decaying infrastructure at important sports venues. The refurbished stadium had a seating capacity of 18,151 spectators. The cost of the project was 1.1 billion
dinar
The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread.
The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
s (approximately
€10 million). Upon completion, the new stadium met
UEFA standards to host international matches. In June 2012, the
Football Association of Serbia
The Football Association of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски савез Србије, ФСС / ) is the governing body of football in Serbia, based in Belgrade. It organizes Serbian football leagues, namely the Serbian Superliga, the Serbia n ...
announced that Čair would host the
Serbian national team in their
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...
match against
Scotland on 26 March 2013.
However, the match was played at the
Karađorđe Stadium after it was announced that Čair Stadium would not meet all
UEFA standards until May 2013. The stadium hosted its first football game after the renovation works on 15 September 2012, in which Radnički Niš beat
FK Smederevo 1–0 in front of 7,000 spectators.
On 18 December 2012, it was announced that the city of Niš would devote an additional 250 million dinars to a newly-constructed 9,500-seater west stand to be built in 2013, which would bring the stadium capacity to a minimum of 25,003.
Rekonstruiše se i zapad Čaira
Srpski Fudbal, 18 December 2012 However, work has not yet started.
Gallery
File:Stadion Cair, 6 images, 25032012(001) - 25032012 - 4431x1156 - SCUL-Smartblend.jpg, Čair Stadium under reconstruction (March 2012)
File:Čair Stadium panorama.jpg, Ground panorama
File:Čair Stadium main stand.jpg, Eastern stand
File:Čair Stadium north end.jpg, Northern end
File:Čair Stadium south end.jpg, Southern end
File:Čair Stadium west stand.jpg, Western side
See also
* List of football stadiums in Serbia
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cair Stadium
Football venues in Serbia
Football venues in Serbia and Montenegro
Athletics (track and field) venues in Serbia and Montenegro
Football venues in Yugoslavia
Athletics (track and field) venues in Yugoslavia
Buildings and structures in Niš
Multi-purpose stadiums in Serbia
FK Radnički Niš