Elbasan Arena ( sq, Elbasan Arena, formerly known as Ruzhdi Bizhuta) 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 ...

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central Al ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. The stadium was completed in 1967 and has been the home ground of

KF Elbasani Klubi i Futbollit Elbasani is an Albanian professional football club based in the city of Elbasan, that last competed in the Kategoria e Dytë, the third tier of football in the country. History The club was formed in 1913 as Klubi Futbollit U ...

ever since. The stadium was under reconstruction and was officially inaugurated on 8 October 2014 in time for the match against Denmark, valid for the qualifiers of UEFA Euro 2016, with total capacity of 12,800, making it the 3rd largest in

, after the Air Albania Stadium in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

History

Elbasan Arena first opened in 1967 under the name of Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadion who was one of

’s most famous players. Constructed in the 1960s, the ground was built to replace the club’s former ground which had slowly become a set of outdated facilities. For the majority of Ruzhdi Bizhuta’s history, the stadium has been used exclusively by

but in January 2014 it was announced that the ground would host

’s qualification matches of

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

. This decision was taken by the Albanian Football Federation in order to allow the usual national stadium

Qemal Stafa Qemal Stafa (20 March 1920 – 5 May 1942) was a founding member of the Albanian Communist Party, and the leader of its youth section. Biography Stafa was born in Elbasan in 1920, in a family originating from the Zabzun village, at the time part ...

to undergo extensive renovation work.

2014 Reconstruction

Before Elbasan Arena could host the matches however it would have to undergo refurbishment itself, and in total over €5.5 million invested into the stadium. Work to bring up the stadium to UEFA’s required standards began in February 2014, and finished 7 months later in October. Panoramic view of Elbasan Arena

Numerous improvements were made to the stadium including the installation of new floodlights, 12,500 new plastic seats, new changing rooms, executive seating areas, new scoreboards, and to top it all of a brand new playing surface was laid. The stadium then reopened on 8 October when Albania hosted Denmark in their second qualification match of the campaign. Played out in front of a sell-out crowd of 12,800 – the record attendance to date, Albania earned a 1-1 draw against their more favoured opposition.

Inauguration

The opening ceremony of the stadium was held on 11 October 2014, with a historical exhibition match against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Playing for the first time at the recently refurbished Elbasan Arena, the hosts grabbed a 38th-minute lead through Ermir Lenjani's deflected strike but

substitute Lasse Vibe slotted home an 81st-minute equaliser as the

Group I Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

rivals went joint-top.

References

{{Football venues in Albania KF Elbasani Football venues in Albania Buildings and structures in Elbasan Sport in Elbasan Sports venues completed in 1967