Stadium Review Part I: Warsaw

Given the recent preparation-turmoil in Poland and in Ukraine, and the subsequent possibility of Poland-Ukraine losing the rights to stage the Euro tournament in 2012 -- which would eventually render my Poland-2012 website and previous blog entries related to the Euro useless -- I though it be a good idea to turn to the stadiums for a minute. After all, most of the venues are going to be build regardless of what is going to happen to the Euro in 2012.

Let’s take a look at what is happening in Warsaw.


Capacity: 55,000
A 55.000 seater National Stadium appears small, especially when compared to smaller nations like Portugal, Scotland, or Greece that have at least one 60.000+ stadium at their disposal. However, there is probably no point in building a 60k seater in Warsaw unless the city plans to host the Olympics sometime soon. The stadium will have no regular football club tenant and these days sustainability and economics seems to prevail over sheer size. Club Legja-Warsaw will build it’s own stadium with 35 000 seats, which will become the second soccer-venue in Warsaw.

Use: Soccer only
The original stadium in Warsaw looks a lot like the venue-site in Leipzig, Germany before it was demolished. Whereas the new Zentralstadion in Leipzig was build inside the perimeters of the existing structure, thus leaving traces of history behind as seen on the image above, the new venue in Warsaw will utilize the entire site > video. The stadium will be build on top of the existing sports ground, but unlike the existing stadium, the new arena will have no running-track going around the soccer-field. Therefore, the venue will not be used to stage track and field events.

Start of Construction: Q1 2009
Besides the new stadium, the city of Warsaw also revealed plans to redevelop large areas immediately surrounding the Stadium. As part of the urban redevelopment project the city wants to build a conference and exposition center, an indoor sports Arena, a 5 star hotel, office buildings, an entertainment center, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and a new metro and regional transit hub that will connect the new neighborhood of Warsaw with downtown and its exiting surroundings.


Opening Date: Q3 2011
The new stadium will be completed in 2011. Until 2012 likely only the 5 star hotel, the conference center, the train and metro station, and the adjacent arena will be finished. The remaining projects are probably going to be completed in 2015.

Architects and Main Features: JSK - Retractable Roof, 2 Heated Tiers
JSK designed a roof very reminiscent of the roof of the Waldstadion in Frankfurt, Germany. The original shape of the stadium -- although the facade materials are completely different – reminds strongly of the stadium in Cape Town, Africa. It’s almost as if the architects tried to merge Frankfurt and Cape Town together to come up with the design for Warsaw. Nonetheless, personally the more I look at the design the more I like it: it looks a little bit like an over sized woven basket – one of the few remaining traditional handicrafts in Poland > video.

Cost: $408 million