Donbass Arena
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- 2012 European Football Championship
The Donbass Arena (Ukrainian Донбас Арена, Russian Донбасс Арена ) is a football stadium in the Ukrainian industrial city of Donetsk and home of top clubs Shakhtar Donetsk. It was opened on 29 August 2009, and was the venue for the European Football Championship in 2012.
History
The arena was designed on behalf of Rinat Akhmetov by the British firm Arup, which was already responsible for the Allianz Arena in Munich and the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona. The construction was carried out by the Turkish company ENKA İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş. as general contractor. Construction began in 2006 and was finished in summer 2009. As building materials were mainly steel and concrete and used for the exterior facade glass. There is also a football museum on the premises. The Donbass Arena was classified by UEFA with 5 stars.
As for the construction of the Donbass Arena trees had to be cleared, a park was created around the stadium and planted new trees. In addition to sporting events, the stadium will also serve as a venue for concerts and shows. At the opening ceremony of national and international celebrities from politics and entertainment such as Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yushchenko was present. The American R & B singer Beyonce Knowles guested on 29 August 2009 as part of her I Am ... Tour.
Before the Arena is the world's largest " floating " granite football. This stone sphere is composed of several black and bright hard rocks and slides on a very thin film of water. The stone ball has a diameter of 270 cm and a weight of 28 tons. It was erected in 2009.
Inside the stadium, 60 km fiber and more than 400 kilometers of copper cable were laid. By 6000 copper and fiber connections over 1700, this is one of the largest ever installed in Ukraine networks.
2012 European Football Championship
During the European Championships were in the Donbass Arena with three group matches and a quarter - and semi-final five games played.
Gallery
Construction site on 1 August 2008