Pärnu Rannastaadion () is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

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

, and the home ground of Pärnu JK Vaprus. The stadium was opened after reconstruction in 2016 and seats 1,501. It is located next to the Pärnu Beach and approximately 200 metres from the sea. First opened in 1929, the stadium has had four different grandstands throughout its history and was completely reconstructed in 2015–2016. The address of the stadium is Ranna pst. 2, 80012 Pärnu.

History

First sporting activities on Pärnu Rannastaadion's field date back to 1896, when a

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

was opened by the association of German cyclists. The velodrome was destroyed in 1915 by Russian soldiers, who dug

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches res ...

on the sports field to repel a possible German

landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " spl ...

. After Estonia gained independence, a committee was established to make plans for a stadium. The stadium was officially opened on 14 July 1929. The wooden grandstand, which was also built to host singing festivals, was able to seat around 700 people and was labelled as the 'finest of the Baltic states' due to its

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

. However, the grandstand was set on fire on 9 February 1933 and the perpetrators were never caught. Five months later, on 9 July 1933, a new and larger grandstand was opened. Designed by architect Olev Siinmaa, the stadium building has later been considered as one of the best examples of 1930s wooden functionalism in Estonia. The stadium survived

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and hosted numerous post-war Pärnumaa Song Festivals, before the historic grandstand was demolished in 1981 and the stadium's ownership was transferred to Sports Association Kalev, who renamed the stadium as Pärnu Kalevi staadion and opened a new grandstand in 1987. Kalev however struggled with the stadium's maintenance and the complex was soon left in particularly bad condition. In 2012, the City of Pärnu revoked Kalev's rights for the stadium and held a design competition for a new grandstand, which was won by KAMP Arhitektid. The stadium was renamed Pärnu Rannastaadion and the reconstruction began in July 2015. Pärnu Rannastaadion was reopened on 9 July 2016 after extensive renovation works. With a total cost of 5.62 million euros, the new stadium complex also facilitates a hostel, gym, seminar rooms and a restaurant. The stadium was awarded the 2016

Union of Estonian Architects Union of Estonian Architects (or Estonian Association of Architects, EAA; ) organizes architects, landscape architects and architecture researchers. EAA re-established 27 June 1989. EAA is a legal successor of ''Estonian Association of Architec ...

award for its outstanding architecture. On 31 August 2016, Pärnu Rannastaadion hosted the

Estonia national football team The Estonia men's national football team () 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 Lilleküla Stadium ...

after a 17-year break, when they drew 1–1 with Malta in a friendly match. Since 2021, Pärnu has also hosted numerous

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

qualifying matches of

Paide Linnameeskond Paide Linnameeskond, or simply Paide, is an Estonian professional football club based in Paide that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Paide linnastaadion. Founded in 2004, the club has ...

Galleries

File:Pärnu staadioni tribüün 1929.jpg, 1929–1933 File:Pärnu staadioni tribüün.jpg, 1933–1981 File:Pärnu Rannastaadion 2016 2.jpg, 2016–present File:Pärnu Rannastaadion 2016 3.jpg, 2016–present File:Pärnu staadion 1929.jpg, 1929–1933 File:Pärnu staadion 1939.png, 1933–1981 File:Pärnu Kalevi Staadion.jpg, 1987–2015 File:Pärnu Rannastaadion 2016 4.jpg, 2016–present File:Pärnu Rannastaadion.jpg File:Pärnu Rannastaadion copy.jpg File:Aerial photo of Pärnu Beach Stadium.jpg File:Pärnu Rannastaadion 2016 1.jpg

Estonia national team matches

Pärnu has hosted four

matches.

Athletics records

''Updated on 6 June 2021.''

Men

Women

References

External links

Home pageTimelapse of the construction of the stadium (2015–2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnu Rannastaadion Football venues in Estonia Buildings and structures in Pärnu Multi-purpose stadiums in Estonia Athletics (track and field) venues in Estonia Sport in Pärnu