Arena Kombëtare
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Arena Kombëtare () is an
all-seater An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Amer ...
, multi-purpose
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
stadium located in the Albanian capital city of
Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...
which was built on the ground of the former Qemal Stafa Stadium. The stadium has a seating capacity of 22,500 constituting the largest stadium in
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. The stadium is owned by the governing body of Albanian football, the
Albanian Football Association The Albanian Football Federation (; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. Headquartered in Tirana, it organises the national football leagues of Kategoria Superiore, Kategoria e Parë, Kategoria e Dytë, Kategoria e Tretë, Alba ...
(FSHF) and the Albanian State through Shoqëria Sportive Kuq e Zi Sh.A, a subsidiary established for the purpose of building, managing and maintaining the structure. Designed by Marco Casamonti of Archea Associati, the structure of the stadium is a peculiar multi-faceted form (an 8-faceted rectangle) so that each side allows access to distinct functions. At one corner of the stadium structure is an 112-metre tall tower (24 floors). Each facet accommodates different streams, thus identifying users of private areas, such as the hotel tower, shopping areas and stadium spectators. In May 2022, the stadium hosted the first ever Europa Conference League final between
AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...
and Feyenoord Rotterdam.


Location

The stadium is located in the city-centre of the capital city of Tirana. Precisely on the Italia Square which itself is alongside one of the two main squares of the city, the Mother Teresa Square, named after the Albanian-born Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Both squares are located at the southern end of the
Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard The Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard () is a major thoroughfare in Tirana, Albania. It was initially designed by Armando Brasini in 1925. Brasini's master plan was later amended by Florestano di Fausto, and in 1939 by Gherardo Bosio following t ...
, which on that side is confined to the
University of Tirana The University of Tirana (, abbreviated UT) is a public university located at the central borough of Tirana 10 in Tirana, Albania. It was established as the State University of Tirana (SUT) in 1957 through merging of five existing institutes ...
building and the Grand Park of the city. The whole area, including the old Qemal Stafa Stadium, was conceived and built during the Kingdom of Albania and later during the Italian occupation by architects and urban planners
Gherardo Bosio Gherardo Bosio (19 March 1903 – 16 April 1941) was an Italian architect, engineer and urbanist, famed for his work in planning the centre of Tirana, the capital of Albania.http://www.shqiptariiitalise.com/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi-itali/shqiper ...
,
Armando Brasini Armando Brasini (Rome, 21 September 1879 - Rome, 18 February 1965) was a prominent Italian architect and urban designer of the early twentieth century and exemplar of Fascist architecture. His work is notable for its eclectic and visionary style ...
and
Florestano Di Fausto Florestano Di Fausto (16 July 1890 – 11 January 1965) was an Italian architect, engineer and politician who is best known for his building designs in the Italian overseas territories around the Mediterranean. He is considered the most importa ...
. The stadium is surrounded by other public buildings such as the University of Tirana, the Palace of Congress, the Archaeological Museum, University of Arts, the Presidential palace, etc.


History


Planning and attempts

For more than 60 years since its construction, Qemal Stafa Stadium served as the main stadium in Albania, the home of the Albania national team, as well as the home of several athletic competitions and other events. After its degradation over the years, around 2010s the
Albanian Football Association The Albanian Football Federation (; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. Headquartered in Tirana, it organises the national football leagues of Kategoria Superiore, Kategoria e Parë, Kategoria e Dytë, Kategoria e Tretë, Alba ...
(FSHF) and the
Albanian government Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, in which the president of Albania is the head of state and the prime minister of Albania is the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Go ...
began to discuss the possibility of renovating the facility or, if not possible, building a new stadium in the same location. The government and the FSHF came to an agreement to create a joint venture that would handle the tendering, construction and then management of the new stadium, with the condition that the destination of the sports facility would not be changed. Thus, on 26 March 2011, was established Qëndra Sportive Kuq e Zi Sh.A with 70% of shareholding belonging to the FSHF and 25% to the Albanian Government through the Ministry of Sports. On 19 October 2010, Albania's PM
Sali Berisha Sali Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as the 32nd Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. Berisha ...
after a meeting with the
President of UEFA The following is a list of presidents of UEFA, the European association football governing body. Presidents of UEFA ;Notes * Jacques Georges served as interim president before being elected on 26 June 1984. * The title of Honorary President was ...
Michel Platini Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...
, declared that the government is seriously considering the construction of a new stadium. Soon after, at a meeting of the
Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
on 2 February 2011, a decision was taken that for the
100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania The 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania was a yearlong celebration in 2012 when Albanians celebrated the 100th anniversary of establishing independent Albania, the first Albanian state in modern history. Celebration In Albania ...
, which will occur in 2012, a new national stadium will be built in Tirana. Fenwick Iribarren Architects was commissioned to design the new stadium. The project envisioned the construction of a 33,000 all-seated stadium with an exterior facade representing Albanian state borders and its flag colours. But it never went ahead with the implementation of the project, considering it too expensive for the state budget which would cover most of the construction costs. In November 2013 the President of the FSHF,
Armand Duka Armand Duka (born 7 October 1962) is an Albanian businessman and head of the Albanian Football Association (FShF). His first role in football was being owner of Erzeni Shijak. Education Duka graduated in economics from Tirana University. ...
stated that
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
will no longer allow European competitions such as the Champions League,
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
and other international leagues to be played at Qemal Stafa Stadium or any other stadium in Albania because neither of them does not meet UEFA standards. Consequently, the Albania national team and the
Albanian Superliga Kategoria Superiore (), also known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons with internet service provider, Abissnet, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Albania. At the top of the Albanian football league syste ...
teams participating in international competitions risked playing their matches abroad. Soon after, FSHF in cooperation with the new government elected, took steps to finance the reconstruction of the
Elbasan Arena Elbasan Arena (, formerly known as Ruzhdi Bizhuta) is a multi-purpose stadium in Elbasan, Albania. The stadium was completed in 1967 and has been the home ground of KF Elbasani ever since. The stadium was under reconstruction and was official ...
stadium to avoid UEFA's penalties, thus giving time for the construction of a new national stadium in Tirana. Efforts were made again in 2015, but this time trying new forms of financing without burdening the state budget. The Italian company Serenissima Costruzioni in collaboration with MANICA Architecture and Progetto CMR as designer, presented its project for the stadium. The project envisioned the transfer of ownership of all non-sporting and commercial spaces in favour of the company, as well as the construction of a tower on one side of the stadium which would also be owned by the company. This attempt also failed during negotiations between the government and the investor because the company requested the government to provide bank guarantees for the loans that the company would obtain during construction. On 22 May 2016 after the stadium was previously excluded from UEFA due to non-compliance with the standards, the last match between
FK Kukësi Futboll Klub Kukësi is an Albanian professional football club based in the city of Kukës. The club plays its home games at the Kukës Arena and currently competes in the Kategoria e Parë, the second highest division of Albanian football. The ...
and
KF Laçi Klubi i Futbollit Laçi is an Albanian professional football club based in Laç. The club competes in the Kategoria e Parë, the second tier of Albanian football. Their home ground is Laçi Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 2,271. Un ...
valid for the
Albanian Cup The Albanian Cup () is the main "knockout" competition in Albanian football. The competition started in 1939 as Kupa e Mbretit ( English:"The King's Cup"). The cup was suspended for the next eight years as the Second World War started. It start ...
Final was played in the Qemal Stafa Stadium before its final closure until the new stadium begins to build.


Final effort and tendering

A final attempt was made the following month by reopening the
invitation to tender An invitation to tender (ITT, also known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business activ ...
, with AlbStar Sh.p.k presenting a concrete offer. Compared to previous projects, AlbStar presented a new project with a reduced capacity of 22.500 all-seated stadium which also envisioned a tower in one corner of the stadium structure. The project was designed by Florentine architect Marco Casamonti of Archea Associati, who envisioned a faceted rectangular stadium bound by a curved line. Such a form of the stadium was associated with the symbolism of the map of Albania which has a similar rectangular shape from north to south with some curved incisions at the northeast, northwest, southeast and southwestern extremes of the country. The external facade is covered with black and red metal panels combining them with the use of glass on the whole facade, including the tower. The metal panels have a curved triangular form, stylised with some shapes reminiscent of traditional Albanian carpets. The tower itself is 112 metres high and it fits the curved line of the structure on that side. The sports spaces inside the stadium consists of 3 uniform two-ring grandstands, and the main grandstand of one level which serves only for VIP stands.


Demolition and construction

On 21 April 2016, the project was officially presented by the President of FSHF Armand Duka, accompanied by the PM
Edi Rama Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama; 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, artist and writer who has been serving as the 33rd and incumbent prime minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. He was M ...
. At the design stage and during its presentation, the project was named "Arena Kombëtare" ''()'', becoming the common name and widely used throughout its construction. The preliminary cost of the construction was initially said to be around
€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
50 million but later was increased to 60m, and according to comments from FSHF officials, the final cost exceeded 75 million euros. The signed contract stipulates that most of the cost of construction will be carried out by the private company itself, somewhere around
€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
40 million, and the difference of
€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
10 million would be covered by UEFA’s HatTrick assistance programme. Also, any cost increases during construction would also be carried by the company. While the company would be rewarded with the ownership of all non-sporting parts and the tower which will be built simultaneously on one corner of the structure, as well as exempting the company from
VAT A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...
payments for any work done related to the project. On the other hand, any other cost for everything sports spaces or game-related spaces will be carried out by the federation itself in cooperation with the government. The FSHF will pay for the interior design of the sports spaces, such as the changing rooms, conference rooms, etc. Also for the natural grass for the pitch, all the seats, the
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floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. It can provide functional area lighting for travel-ways, parking, entrances, work areas, and sporting venues to enable visibility adequate for safe task performance, ornament ...
s, as well as a large screen also in LED to be installed on the roof of the main grandstand. On 9 June 2016, the demolition of the National Stadium Qemal Stafa officially began. A new stadium, the Arena Kombëtare, will be built in its place, which will serve as the new home of the Albania national football team. The stadium will have 21,690 seats, but the facility is projected to be multi-functional. Simultaneously with the demolition began the disassembling stone by stone of the monumental
staircase A stairwell or stair room is a room in a building where a stair is located, and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a staircase or stairway ...
built by
Gherardo Bosio Gherardo Bosio (19 March 1903 – 16 April 1941) was an Italian architect, engineer and urbanist, famed for his work in planning the centre of Tirana, the capital of Albania.http://www.shqiptariiitalise.com/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi-itali/shqiper ...
in 1939, which is considered Monument of Culture and part of the cultural heritage of the capital. It will be conserved and then integrated by reassembled in the same location into the new stadium, where it will serve the same function as the main entrance to the stadium as it has had since its construction. Initially it was said that at least the sports areas of the stadium would be completed within two years of the start of construction, otherwise there would be penalties for the company. But since the beginning of the works there were problems with the sewage system of the capital which passed just under the old stadium, which caused the work to be delayed until the solution was found in cooperation with the Municipality. Then there were some other postponements making the stadium finally wrap up on 10 November 2019, waiting for the first time a test match between women's football teams of Vllaznia Shkodër and Apolonia Fier.


Opening

The FSHF initially announced that the stadium would most likely be inaugurated on 11 June 2019 but had to be tested and inspected by UEFA officials beforehand. However, the plan for the inauguration was postponed due to the delay in work and the pitch just being installed. The first test match was originally set to be played on 3 November, but was delayed by a week due to heavy rains. The first match, a women's fixture between KF Vllaznia and KF Apollonia held on 10 November, was attended by many fans and won by Vllaznia 2–0, with the first-ever goal at the stadium scored by Arbiona Bajraktari. Arena Kombëtare, now under the new official name of Air Albania Stadium, was officially inaugurated with a ceremony on 17 November 2019, 1274 days after the final game at the old stadium. The first match, was valid for the Euro 2020 qualifiers played at 20:45 between the national teams of
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
and
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, which the host team lost 0–2. A crowd of more 21,000 was in attendance. Many celebrities of sport, politics and art were invited to the ceremony, with the UEFA President
Aleksander ÄŒeferin Aleksander ÄŒeferin (; born 13 October 1967) is a Slovenian lawyer and Association football, football administrator. Between 2011 and 2016, he was president of the Football Association of Slovenia. Since September 2016, he has been the List of pr ...
and Prime Minister of Albania
Edi Rama Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama; 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, artist and writer who has been serving as the 33rd and incumbent prime minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. He was M ...
were among them.


Naming

Since 1946, the time at which the stadium was finished, was named Qemal Stafa Stadium in honor of Qemal Stafa, a hero of the second world war and founder of the Communist Party, which was in power after the war. The old stadium held this name until 9 June 2016, the day on which its demolition officially began. During a ceremony held to present the winning project and the conclusion of the agreement for the construction of the new stadium, Albania's PM Edi Rama referred to the new stadium with the name of ''Arena Kombëtare''. This made the stadium widely known and referred to as "Arena Kombëtare" from the day the works began until a few weeks before the completion of the work. However, much controversy arose during the construction of whether the stadium should retain its old name "Qemal Stafa", the new one "Arena Kombëtare" or should be renamed in honor of a prominent Albanian football player to honor him as well as the history of this sport in the country. The most discussed figure was that of Panajot Pano, the former striker of KF Partizani, one of the capital's teams, as well as the national football team player. His name is widely respected and is considered one of the greatest footballers the country has ever known. Towards the end of the works, however, the FSHF hinted that the stadium could be named after a private company for sponsorship reasons. According to the federation, such a stadium will require ongoing funding due to maintenance and this necessitates taking advantage of any sponsorship opportunities. This led to the opening of the tender on 8 August 2019, just months before the inauguration, for the new stadium name. Some domestic and foreign companies were interested in the competition, including oil, telecommunications, insurance, and airline companies. On 15 November 2019, Kuq e Zi Sh.A issued a press release announcing that two companies, Bolv Oil and Air Albania, went in the final phase of negotiations. With the Air Albania being announced as the winner with the most favourable bid. The deal stipulates that within the next five years starting from the date of signing, the new stadium name will be "Air Albania Stadium". It was also decided that each tribune would have its own name. * Main Stand to be named - Qemal Stafa Stand, in honor of the hero as well as the demolished stadium which was in the same location. * East Stand to be named - Panajot Pano Stand, in honor of former KF Partizani player. * North Stand to be named - Fatmir Frashëri Stand, in honor of former
KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. The men's football club is part of the multi-discipli ...
player. * South Stand to be named - Vasillaq Zëri Stand, in honor of former FK Dinamo player.


Structure and facilities


Tirana Marriott Hotel and Arena Centre

The stadium is located near the centre of the capital
Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...
. The building built on the side of the stadium includes a Tirana
Marriott Hotel Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 h ...
. The stadium includes a history museum, changing rooms, and other facilities such as cafeterias, lavatories including access for the disabled, a press area, a convention centre, a trophy room, etc. There is no room for a running track as capacity will grow to over 22,000 seats, all covered. The overall project is part of the Arena Shopping Centre together with the 112-metre tower, 80-room hotel and 256 underground parking spaces. All of the stadium facilities will be hidden behind a unique set of blinders in national colours of Albania.


Tirana's TUMO Center

In October 2020, the Municipality of Tirana alongside the Albanian-American Development Fund (AADF) decided to temporarily open the TUMO Center on the Arena Kombëtare internal spaces. The center offers for adolescents aged 12–18, extracurricular educational programs, innovative in design and technology, providing adolescents with space and equipment to advance their education while developing technical skills. The original location of the TUMO Tirana is the Pyramid of Tirana which is planned to be reconstructed and returned to the headquarters of this teaching center.


Image gallery

File:Air Albania Stadium close.jpg, The tower and main entrance, incorporating part of the old stadium in rationalist style File:Qemal Stafa Stadium.jpg, The stadium from above the grandstand File:Full view of Air Albania Stadium.jpg, Interior overview in 2019... File:Tirana National Stadium - Arena Kombëtare - October 2022.jpg, ...and in 2022


See also

* Air Albania * Qemal Stafa Stadium * List of tallest buildings in Albania


References


External links


Arena Center Official site

Archea Associati
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arena Kombëtare Multi-purpose stadiums in Albania
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
Football venues in Albania Albania national football team Sports venues completed in 2019 Highrises in Albania Buildings and structures in Tirana