Donbass Arena ( uk, Донба́с Аре́на ; is a stadium with a natural grass pitch in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, that opened on 29 August 2009. The facility is located in the center of the city, in the

Lenin Comsomol park Lenin Komsomol park ( uk, Парк культури і відпочинку ім. Ленінського комсомолу, lit=Lenin Komsomol culture and recreation park, translit=Park kultury i vidpochynku im. Leninskoho komsomolu) is a popula ...

. With a capacity of 52,187 spectators, the stadium used to host FC Shakhtar Donetsk matches and also hosted some matches of

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

. The final cost of construction for Donbass Arena was $400M. The stadium has been unused and closed to the public since May 2014, due to the

War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. The name of the stadium represents the simplified and shortened name of the

Donets Basin The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Done ...

huge industrial region of Donbas, henceDonbas (

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

: ''Донецький басейн'' or ''Донбас'').

Construction and design

UA Donezk Zentralstadion-Schachtar Neubau

Construction began in 2006. The general contractor was a Turkish company

ENKA is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than '' ryūkōka'' music, ...

. The Stadium was completed and opened in 2009. About 1,600 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 Allianz Arena (; known as Fußball Arena München for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterio ...

(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 Donbas region, a mining region, and the date was chosen for its symbolism. The primary tenant of the facility is the local professional football club

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...

("Donetsk Coal Miners"). American Pop/R&B singer-songwriter

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

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 Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

to honour the memory of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, 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 18 June 2010 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. Shakhtar Donetsk's first match at the stadium was a 4–0 victory in a 2009–10 Ukrainian Premier League fixture on 27 September 2009 against

FC Obolon Kyiv , Beer-brewers) , founded = 13 June 1992 , ground = Obolon Arena , capacity = 5,100 , chairman = Oleksandr Slobodian , manager = Valeriy Ivashchenko , league = Ukrainian First League , season = 2020–21 , position = Ukrainian First Leagu ...

.New Shakhtar stadium opens doors
/ref> The first international game took place on 18 November 2009 against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, which

lost 0–1 failing to qualify for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

UEFA Euro 2012 matches

Donbass Arena was included in the official bidding project submitted by Poland and Ukraine for hosting

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

. The stadium was one of the venues for the UEFA Euro 2012. The stadium hosted group D stage games and one quarter-final and one semi-final game (with the other matches in that group played at

Olimpiysky National Sports Complex The Olympic National Sports Complex (also known as Olympic Stadium; uk, Національний спортивний комплекс "Олімпійський", translit=Natsionalnyi sportyvnyi kompleks "Olimpiiskyi") is a multi-use sports ...

). Unlike most new stadiums being built in Poland and Ukraine, Donbass Arena was not specifically built for the tournament. The following matches were played at the stadium during the UEFA Euro 2012:

Other uses

The project of new stadium "Donbass Arena" was conceived long before Ukraine was named as co-host of

. The

owner Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

considered the possibility of daily use of the arena. "Donbass Arena" includes three restaurants, a lounge-bar, a fan cafe, numerous fast-food outlets, retail outlets, a fitness center, corporate boxes and first aid rooms. The stadium also provides facilities for corporate events - presentations, press conferences, celebrations and concerts. Stadium

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

are available which include an examination of the unique features of Donbass Arena, a visit to the footballers' rooms and FC Shakhtar Museum and a visit to the FC Shakhtar brand shop for

souvenirs A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a ...

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 From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the succe ...

and the

self-proclaimed Self-proclaimed describes a legal title that is recognized by the declaring person but not necessarily by any recognized legal authority. It can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation. The term is used informally for anyone declari ...

Donetsk People's Republic.Akhmetov called a strike at the enterprises in protest
Ukrainian Media Group (20 May 2014)Ukrainian tycoon Rinat Akhmetov confronts rebellion

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

(20 May 2014)Akhmetov's "Peace March" in Donetsk took 20 minutes
Interfax-Ukraine (20 May 2014)Businessman Akhmetov condemns 'genocide of Donbas,' calls for peaceful rally against 'Donetsk People's Republic'
Interfax-Ukraine (20 May 2014) 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.Champions League - Shakhtar stadium hit by explosions
On 20 October 2014, the stadium was again damaged by what was reported to be artillery shelling. This time, the stadium sustained damage to the east and west sides and at least one large glass panel fell near a young girl.Near miss for young girl at Donetsk stadium as blast hits
/ref> Since July 2014, due to the danger of the ongoing conflict in Donetsk, Shakhtar used the

Arena Lviv Arena Lviv ( uk, Арена Львів) is a football stadium in Lviv, Ukraine. It was one of the eight UEFA Euro 2012 venues, where it hosted three of the group-stage games. According to the official plans, the stadium has a total seating capacit ...

in the city of

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

in western Ukraine (600 miles away from Donetsk) as their temporary home ground.Shakhtar Donetsk move training and games over Ukraine conflict
/ref> In early 2017, the club moved their home games to the

Metalist Stadium "Metalist" Oblast Sports Complex ( uk, Обласний спортивний комплекс "Металіст"), which includes the Metalist Stadium ( uk, Стадіон "Металіст"), is a multi-use stadium in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It is us ...

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Shakhtar Donetsk's Donbass Arena damaged by shelling
/ref> The stadium has remained unused and closed to the public since FC Shakhtar were forced to abandon it. However, despite the on-going conflict, the stadium is slowly being repaired. On 31 May 2018, the field turf was successfully restored.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

In March 2022, during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

, the Donbas Arena Football infrastructure continues to suffer from the war in Ukraine. The main stadium of Donetsk suffered some damage.

Facts

* natural turf will be used with 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

References

External links

Donbass Arena official website

Rinat Akhmetov: The new stadium's name is Donbass Arena
{{War in Donbas FC Shakhtar Donetsk Football venues in Donetsk Oblast UEFA Euro 2012 stadiums in Ukraine Sport in Donetsk Sports venues completed in 2009 Buildings and structures in Donetsk Tourist attractions in Donetsk Oblast SCM Holdings Sports venues in Donetsk Oblast