Čair Stadium ( sr-cyr, Стадион Чаир, ''Stadion Čair'') is a
multi-purpose stadium
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
in
Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
. It is used mostly for
football 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.
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
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
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
dinars (approximately
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
10 million). Upon completion, the new stadium met
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
standards to host international matches. In June 2012, the
Football Association of Serbia 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
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
on 26 March 2013.
However, the match was played at the
Karađorđe Stadium
Karađorđe Stadium ( sr, Стадион Карађорђе, Stadion Karađorđe) is a multi-purpose stadium in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and is the home ground of FK Vojvodina ...
after it was announced that Čair Stadium would not meet all
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
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
Fudbalski klub Smederevo 1924 ( sr-cyr, Фудбалски клуб Смедерево 1924), commonly known as Smederevo, is a Serbian professional football club based in Smederevo.
During Yugoslavia the club mainly played in amateur ranks of co ...
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
The following is a list of football stadiums in Serbia, in order by capacity. The capacities listed are seating capacities, which means the potential number of spectators the stadiums can accommodate in non-seated stands are not listed.
Current ...
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