Marshal Józef Piłsudski Stadium

Marshal Józef Piłsudski Stadium
Cracovia Stadium
UEFA Category 3 Stadium
Location	Cracow, Poland
Built	2009-2010
Opened	September 25, 2010
Owner	Cracow
Operator	Cracovia
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	157 mln PLN
Architect	Estudio Lamela
Capacity	15, 016
Field dimensions	105 m x 68 m
Tenants
Cracovia

Main Stand

Marszałek Piłsudski Stadium (formerly Stadion Cracovia or Stadion Cracovii) is a football stadium in Kraków, Poland and is the home ground of Cracovia. The stadium was built in 1906. In 2009 - 2010 in the same location was built new stadium. After reconstruction the stadium holds 15,016 people. The stadium meets the criteria for UEFA Category 3.^[1]

Construction

Stadium design was made by consortium of architectural Polish and Spanish companies Estudio Lamela Sp. z o.o, Estudio Lamela S.L., Sener Sp. z o.o. and Sener Ingenieria y Sistemas S.A. The general contructor was consortium of German Alpine Bau Deutschland AG, Austrian Alpine Bau GmbH and Polish Alpine Construction Polska Sp. z o.o and KPBP „Budus” S.A. Cost was estimated at 157 mln PLN. In June 2009, the process of construction began. Firstly, the old Cracovia stadium, built in 1912, was demolished.^[2] Construction was completed in September 2010. Cracovia played its first official match in the new stadium on 25 September 2010 with Arka Gdynia.^[3]

Characteristic

Overall

The new stadium is located within the square of the streets: Kraszewskiego, Focha, Kałuży and Zwierzyniec. Exact location has been slightly changed in comparison to the old one. Stadium still occupies the central part of the plot, but now it is parallel to the Focha street.

The stadium is typical football-specific stadium. Field dimensions is standard 105 x 68 meters. The Distance between sideline and first row seats varies from 6m (North Stand), by 8m (East & South Stands) to 10m (West Stand). The stadium has three one-level stands and one two-level main stand. The facility is all-seater and it is fully roofed. Installation of all four corners makes the division into the stands is not visible in the construction of the building - the stadium creates a single compact structure. Height of the stands are respectively 14, 10, 12 and 19 meters

South stand

South stand is the main and the biggest stand on the stadium. Capacity is 4691 spectators. This is the only two-level stand in the construction. The Stand is divided into 5 sections. Three of them are located on the first level and these are: Sections G, E (14 rows each) and VIP section which can hold 476 people with 11 rows. The other two, Section F and H (with 8 and 9 row respectively) are located on the second level of the stand.

Józef Piłsudski Stadium

West stand

West stand is located on the side of Ignacego Kraszewskiego street. It’s divided into 2 sections I & J. Both have 22 rows. West stand is the biggest one from all three one-level stands on stadium. Section J is a section prepared especially for guests spectators. His capacity is 1057 people. The section has it’s own separated entrance and foyer dedicated only for fans from visiting team.

East stand

East stand is the smallest stand on the stadium. The main representative square is located between this stand and Kałuży street. The stand is divided into 2 standard sections: B (only sectors B4 and B5) and D. This is the place where the most fanatic Cracovia’s fans supports its team during the matches. Moreover there are 42 places for disabled persons with another 42 dedicated for their care assistants.

North stand

The opposite to the main stand, North stand is divided into sections A and B (sectors B1, B2, B3). Each of them have 16 rows.^[4]

See also

• Józef Piłsudski

References

1. ^ http://cracovia.pl/pilka-nozna/klub/stadion
2. ^ http://cracovia.pl/pilka-nozna/klub/stadion
3. ^ http://stadiony.net/stadiony/pol/stadion_cracovii
4. ^ http://cracovia.pl/pilka-nozna/klub/stadion

External links

• Stadium page at the official Cracovia website
• Stadium photos at the official Cracovia website