The first stadium in Ukraine in a year’s time

In Summer 2008 the first Ukrainian five-start stadium will be put to operation in Donetsk. Its construction was commenced in June 2006.

It will seat 50,000 spectators. Its construction cost USD 250 million. The management of the football club Szachtar, which has financed the stadium’s construction, are hoping that during EURO 2012 the facility will host – beside group matches – quarter-final and semi-final matches.

The seven-floor facility will accommodate galleries, three restaurants, bars, fast-food restaurants, the club’s office with a shop, a footballers’ café and a regeneration center.

Workers work at express pace: without holidays and days off, on 11-hours shifts. Hence in all probability Szachtara footballers will start 2008/09 season on a new stadium.

Stadium’s construction
The construction process can be viewed on-line 24 hours a day on Internet at the stadium’s website. Web cameras on cranes are moved from time to time so as to focus on the most interesting points of the facility.

The Donetsk stadium, resembling a flying saucer, was designed by the British company Arupsport. It also designed reconstruction of Estádio da Luz in Lisbon and the currently constructed Beijing stadium for 2008 Olympics.

The construction is implemented by Turkish company Enka, which committed itself to put the stadium into operation within 24 months.

In the strict final of the tender for stadium’s construction, the Turkish company was bidding against German contractor Hochtief, specializing, amongst other things, in construction of stadiums. Hochtief are currently constructing the arena for 30 thousand spectators in Dnipropetrovsk.

But the two-month negotiations with the German company did not yield fruitful results. The fate of the stadium together with 89 kilograms of design documentation fell into hands of the Turkish company, which proved to be more competent.

Stadium in figures
 - 1000 workers are employed;
 - the entire construction site covers the area of 254,907 square meters;
 - the stadium itself occupies 46,780 square meters;
 - height of 51m in the highest point of the facility (from the pitch surface);
 - 120 thousand tons of concrete;
 - 25 thousand tons of reinforcement;
 - 20 thousand square meters of glazing;
 - 4300 tons of metal constructions;
 - it is worth USD 250 million;
 - it will accommodate 50 thousand spectators;
 - matches will be played on the pitch with the dimensions of 105m per 68m.

Five-star stadiums
Currently there are 22 stadiums in Europe that meet UEFA requirements for five-star facilities. They include: Stade de France in Paris, Camp Nou in Bacelona, Olympiastadion in Berlin, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff or Luzniki in Moscow. If nobody gets ahead of Ukrainians, the Donetsk arena will be put on this privileged list under the number 23.

football.ua, newstadium.shakhtar.com, 15th May 2007