The National Arena is a retractable roof football stadium in Bucharest, Romania. It opened in 2011 on the site of the original National Stadium, which was demolished between 2007 and 2008. The stadium hosts major football matches including home matches of the Romania National Football Team, and usually Romanian Cup Final. With 55,634 seats, it is the largest stadium in Romania. Designed by Gerkan, Marg and Partners, the stadium was built by German firm Max Bögl and Italian firm Astaldi. The stadium has a retractable roof which covers the playing surface. In addition to Romania home games and the Romanian Cup final, the stadium also hosts other major games in Romanian football, including the season-opening Supercupa României. A UEFA category four stadium, the National Arena hosted the 2012 UEFA Europa League final, and four games at UEFA Euro 2020 (including the Round of 16 match between France and Switzerland, ended in a 3–3 draw, with Switzerland defeating France 5–4 at penalties). The stadium has also been used as the venue for The International 2021, the annual Dota 2 world championship esports tournament. Arena Națională has hosted concerts by Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode, and Ed Sheeran. It is currently the home ground of FCSB and was also temporarily used by FC Rapid București between 2021 and 2022 as its traditional ground was being rebuilt. FC Dinamo București also plays some select matches here.

Construction

The old stadium was demolished between 18 December 2007 and 20 February 2008, although a symbolic removal of seats took place on 21 November 2007, after Romania defeated Albania 6–1 in a qualifying match for Euro 2008. The construction phase generated some controversy over costs and delays, with Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu claiming that the works were 20 weeks behind schedule in May 2009. On 8 October 2009, it was decided that the stadium should also include a retractable roof worth €20,000,000. Construction was temporarily halted in December 2009 due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Facilities

The venue holds 55,634 people. 3,600 VIP seats are available, with another 126 seats allotted for the press (with a possible expansion to 548 seats). The stadium includes some 360 restrooms and a retractable roof, which can be opened or closed in 15 minutes. It is also endowed with a floodlight system and 2100 parking spaces. The stadium is also very similar to the Kazimierz Górski National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, in terms of age, capacity and the roof.

Usage

The National Stadium is a Category 4 venue and as such, it hosted the UEFA Europa League 2011–12 final, as announced by UEFA at Nyon on 29 January 2009. It was required to host at least two major events beginning in July 2011, one with an attendance of 10,000 and the second with an attendance of at least 40,000. The stadium also hosted The International 2021, the annual world championship for the video game Dota 2, in October 2021. This came after the original hosts, Sweden, did not classify esports as a sporting event, making it more difficult for players to procure visas to the country.

History

The official inauguration was initially scheduled for 10 August 2011, and was to feature a football match between Romania and Argentina. However, on 26 July, Argentina officially cancelled the friendly match after their manager Sergio Batista departed the team. The stadium was inaugurated on 6 September 2011, with a UEFA Euro 2012 Group D qualifier match between Romania and France. In the front of 49,137 fans, Romania and France drew 0–0. The result meant that Romania lost any chance of qualifying for the tournament, hosted by neighbours Ukraine and Poland.

Notable attendances

The highest audience for a football game was achieved at the Liga 1 football match between FCSB and CFR Cluj hosted on 11 May 2024, which brought 54,673 people to the stadium. The second largest audience was hosted at the UEFA Europa League final on 9 May 2012. The game between the two Spanish teams, Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, brought 52,347 people to the stadium. Another match with a notable audience was between Romania and Switzerland on 21 November 2023, in the qualifying stage of the UEFA Euro 2024 final tournament. With 50,224 people in the stands, Romania won 1–0, thus making it the winner of Group I and giving it a place in Pot 2 for the final tournament in Germany.

Association football

Romania national football team matches

On 6 September 2011, the Romania national football team, played the opening match against the French team which ended with a goalless draw, after Argentina cancelled the official inauguration, a friendly match between Romania and Argentina on 10 August 2011.

Euro 2020 matches

Arena Națională was one of the stadiums that hosted matches for the UEFA Euro 2020. Three Group C matches and a Round of 16 game were played there.

Concerts

Transport

The stadium is served by public transport with buses, trolleybuses, trams and the subway system. The nearest subway station (Piata Muncii) is about 1.7 km away (a 22-minute walk).