The Lilleküla Stadium (known as A. Le Coq Arena for sponsorship reasons) is a

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 ...

stadium in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, Estonia. It is the home ground of football club

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and the

Estonia national football team The Estonia national football team ( et, Eesti jalgpallikoondis) represents Estonia in international football matches and is controlled by the Estonian Football Association, the governing body for football in Estonia. Estonia's home ground is ...

. With a capacity of 14,336, it is the largest football stadium in Estonia.

History

Samba boys kick off the match in Tallinn

In July 1998,

FC Flora FC Flora, commonly known as Flora Tallinn, or simply as Flora, is a professional football club based in Tallinn, Estonia, that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Lilleküla Stadium. For ...

football club submitted a planning application to Tallinn City Council, requesting permission to build a new stadium on wasteland between railway lines in

Kitseküla Kitseküla (Estonian language, Estonian for ''"Goat Village"'') is a subdistrict () of the district of Kesklinn, Tallinn, Kesklinn (Midtown) in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 4,053 (). Kitseküla is situated between two ...

, close to the border with neighbouring

Lilleküla Lilleküla () is a subdistrict of the district of Kristiine in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 24,939 (). On the eastern side of Lilleküla there's a train station " Lilleküla" on the Elron's western route. One of th ...

. Receiving the council's approval, Flora signed a 99-year lease on the estate and construction began in October 2000. The stadium was designed by Haldo Oravas. The stadium was officially opened 2 June 2001, with a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification match between

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The match saw Estonia's

Andres Oper Andres Oper (born 7 November 1977) is an Estonian football coach and former professional player. He is currently an assistant manager of Estonia national team. Oper played as a forward for Lelle, Flora, Tervis Pärnu, AaB, Torpedo Moscow, Rod ...

become the first player to score at the new stadium when he scored in the 65th minute, with the full-time result being a 4–2 victory for the Netherlands. In January 2002, A. Le Coq bought naming rights for the stadium and Lilleküla Stadium.

During the

2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 61st edition of UEFA's European Under-19 Championship (the eleventh since the age competition change to an Under-19 level) and took place in Estonia from 3 to 15 July. Spain are the title hol ...

, the stadium hosted six out of 15 tournament matches, including the final, which saw

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

defeat

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 with ...

1–0. In 2012, Flora completed the transfer ownership of the Lilleküla Football Complex, including Lilleküla Stadium, to the

Estonian Football Association The Estonian Football Association (EJL; et, Eesti Jalgpalli Liit) is the governing body of football, beach soccer and futsal in Estonia, established on 14 December 1921. It organizes the football league, including the championship which is calle ...

. In September 2016, it was announced that the stadium would host the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. In preparation for the match, the stadium's capacity was increased from 10,000 to 15,000. The 2018 UEFA Super Cup match between the

2017–18 UEFA Champions League The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League was the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pla ...

winners

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

and the

2017–18 UEFA Europa League The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League was the 47th season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2018 UEFA Europ ...

winners

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

was held on 15 August 2018, with Atlético Madrid winning 4–2 in extra time.

Lilleküla Football Complex

Lilleküla Stadium is the part of the Lilleküla Football Complex, which also includes two grass surface pitches, two

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

pitches and an indoor hall.

Music

Aside from football and other sporting events, several concerts have been held at Lilleküla Stadium.

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...

performed in 2005 and

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

in 2007.

References

External links

Lilleküla Stadium
at Estonian Football Association
Lilleküla Stadium
at FC Flora {{Navboxes, list1= {{Estonia national football team {{Tallinn landmarks 2001 establishments in Estonia Sports venues completed in 2001 FC Flora Estonia national football team Football venues in Estonia Sports venues in Tallinn