Gdańsk Arena

About

The Gdańsk Stadium (Polish: Stadion Gdańsk), known for sponsorship reasons as the Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk since May 2021, is a football stadium in Gdańsk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Lechia Gdańsk, which competes in the I liga, and the Poland women's national football team. The stadium is located at the 1 Pokoleń Lechii Gdańsk Street (English: Generations of Lechia Gdańsk) in the northern part of the city (Letnica district). The total capacity is 41,620 spectators, all seated and roofed. The stadium is the second largest arena in Ekstraklasa and the third largest in the country (after the Stadion Narodowy and the Stadion Śląski). Construction of the stadium started in 2008 and was completed mid-2011. The opening match was between Lechia Gdańsk and Cracovia and ended in a 1–1 draw. Its first international match was between Poland and Germany, on 6 September 2011 that ended 2–2. The match was relocated from Warsaw since the Stadion Narodowy was not ready. It has been used by Lechia Gdańsk since 'the White-and-Green' relocated there from the Gdańsk Sports Center Stadium. The stadium was also one of the designated venues...

The stadium measures some 236 metres long, 203 metres wide and 45 metres high.

The arena's exterior is designed to resemble amber which has long been extracted on the Baltic coast. Whole roof construction is based on 82 girders. Roof structure has a total area of 44 000 m 2. The facade and the roof are covered with 18 000 plates of polycarbonate multiwall sheet, in 6 shades, with a total area of 4.5 hectares. Two logos (placed on the western and eastern side of the stadium), are made in LED technology, with a height of 8 meters and length of 35 meters.

The pitch has dimensions of 105x68 meters, and its distance from the grandstand is 10.5 m behind the goals, and 8.5 m from the sidelines. The grandstands under the standards of FIFA and UEFA are covered, the center which is hovering over the field however will be uncovered. The issue of installing a sliding roof was considered, but the idea was abandoned due to costs and limited time to complete the construction. Remaining space is reserved for the other participants of the event (staff, etc.). The stadium meets the criteria for UEFA Category 4.

Stadium capacity is 43,615 seats during league matches. However the total number of seats (gross) is approximately 44,000. During the UEFA European Football Championship in 2012 capacity was reduced to approximately 40 000 seats.

At the stadium there are 40 boxes behind glass where full catering is provided (so-called sky-boxes). Eight of them have an area of 60 m 2 (646 ft 2 ) and the remaining 32 have an area of 30 m 2 (323 ft 2 ). In addition to the sky-boxes, stadium offers 1383 seats of higher standard (VIP places) for the more affluent guests. Each of them is equipped with a comfortable seat and located just below the sky-boxes. Both sky-boxes and VIP places have a separate entrance with dedicated foyer.

The seats were provided by Polish company Forum Seating belonging to the Nowy Styl Group located in Krosno. Moreover, the stadium has 50 extra seats for disabled persons.

In December 2009, the stadium's name was purchased by the Polish Energy Group (PGE) for 35 million złoty (about 8.5 million euro ) for a duration of five years. The city of Gdańsk sold the naming rights in order to cover some of the costs of its construction. The only stipulation was that the name must include the word "Arena". The oil company Lotos and power company PGE were the final competitors for the sponsorship contract which also includes the display of the firm's logo in at least two locations at the top of the stadium, along with internal advertisements. The stadium was originally known as the Baltic Arena. The contract with PGE ended, however, on 30 September 2015, after PGE chose not to renew the contract. On 9 November 2015 Energa SA was revealed as the new stadium's sponsor until 2020. On 7 November 2020, The management board of Arena Gdańsk Operator sp.z o.o. announced the end of cooperation with Energa SA. From 21 May 2021, the stadium is called Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk. The city's contract with the media and telecommunications companies Polsat and Plus was concluded for 6 years.

- PGE Arena Gdańsk (July 2010 – October 2015)

- Stadion w Gdańsku Letnicy (October 2015 – November 2015)

- Stadion Energa Gdańsk (November 2015 – November 2020)

- Stadion w Gdańsku Letnicy (November 2020 – May 2021)

- Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk (May 2021 – present )

On 20 January 2012 after several months of preparation, a special club bar named T29 Sports Bar & Restaurant was opened to the public. The venue's name is in reference to the previous Lechia Gdańsk stadium 's address: Traugutta 29. Its interior design draws on events from the club's history. The most distinctive parts of the design are two murals located opposite to each other on the sidewalls of the venue. Both paintings show an artistic interpretation of the panorama of the old Lechia stadium. T29 Sports Bar & Restaurant is situated in the north part of the stadium, just below the visiting team's supporters sector. The pub is a two-level construction with the total area of 800m2. There are 39' TV sets located on both stories of the venue. Every match of Lechia Gdańsk and other important sports events (incl. matches of Polish Ekstraklasa ) are broadcast there every day. T29 Sports Bar & Restaurant is open for the visitors 7 days a week.

The stadium measures some 236 metres long, 203 metres wide and 45 metres high.

The arena's exterior is designed to resemble amber which has long been extracted on the Baltic coast. Whole roof construction is based on 82 girders. Roof structure has a total area of 44 000 m 2. The facade and the roof are covered with 18 000 plates of polycarbonate multiwall sheet, in 6 shades, with a total area of 4.5 hectares. Two logos (placed on the western and eastern side of the stadium), are made in LED technology, with a height of 8 meters and length of 35 meters.

The pitch has dimensions of 105x68 meters, and its distance from the grandstand is 10.5 m behind the goals, and 8.5 m from the sidelines. The grandstands under the standards of FIFA and UEFA are covered, the center which is hovering over the field however will be uncovered. The issue of installing a sliding roof was considered, but the idea was abandoned due to costs and limited time to complete the construction. Remaining space is reserved for the other participants of the event (staff, etc.). The stadium meets the criteria for UEFA Category 4.

Stadium capacity is 43,615 seats during league matches. However the total number of seats (gross) is approximately 44,000. During the UEFA European Football Championship in 2012 capacity was reduced to approximately 40 000 seats.

At the stadium there are 40 boxes behind glass where full catering is provided (so-called sky-boxes). Eight of them have an area of 60 m 2 (646 ft 2 ) and the remaining 32 have an area of 30 m 2 (323 ft 2 ). In addition to the sky-boxes, stadium offers 1383 seats of higher standard (VIP places) for the more affluent guests. Each of them is equipped with a comfortable seat and located just below the sky-boxes. Both sky-boxes and VIP places have a separate entrance with dedicated foyer.

The seats were provided by Polish company Forum Seating belonging to the Nowy Styl Group located in Krosno. Moreover, the stadium has 50 extra seats for disabled persons.