Metalist Oblast Sports Complex

OSC Metalist

Former names	Tractor Stadium (1926–1940) Dzerzhinets Stadium (1940–1967)
Location	Kharkiv, Ukraine
Coordinates
Owner	Metalist Kharkiv
Capacity	40,003 (football)
Field size	105 x 68m
Surface	Grass
Construction
Broke ground	1925
Opened	12 September 1926
Renovated	5 December 2009
Architect	Z. V. Permilovskyi
Tenants
Metalist Kharkiv UEFA Euro 2012

"Metalist" Oblast Sports Complex (Ukrainian: Обласний спортивний комплекс «Металіст»), commonly known as Metalist Stadium (Ukrainian: Стадіон «Металіст»), is a multi-use stadium in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It is currently used chiefly for football matches and is the home of FC Metalist Kharkiv. The stadium, which was a venue for Euro 2012, currently seats 40,003.

History

Construction on the stadium began in 1925 by order of Anastas Mikoyan on the site of the Holy Spirit cemetery. Opened on September 12, 1926, the new stadium was known as "Traktor", as it was then being sponsored by the local tractor production plant. Prior to World War II, the facility was renamed Dzerzhynets Stadium in honor of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the first head of the Cheka. Since 1967, it has borne its present moniker; in that same year, the capacity of the stadium reached 10,000.

Including improvements for Euro 2012, the stadium has undergone four renovations over the course of its history. The first of these took place in the mid-1960s, when the western section of the structure was renovated. The next, begun in 1970 and finished four years later, saw the addition of the north and south stands, raising capacity to 30,000. The architect for the project was Yu. Tabakova. Also added were the stadium's first roof and drainage system, as well as floodlighting, an information panel, and a hotel, located under the north stand and gymnasium.

A third renovation was begun in 1979 to renovate the East and South stands but was completed only three decades later. After the demolition of the South Stand in that year, construction was halted indefinitely, resuming only in 1998 after a delay of nearly twenty years. A new East Stand and a partially reconstructed South Stand were erected.

Metalist's fourth set of renovations was ordered in preparation for Euro 2012. The South Stand was completed and a completely new East Stand was built. Roof replacement, other general modernizations and aesthetic improvements were completed by the end of 2009. On December 5, 2009, the renovated stadium was officially opened on the 50th birthday of Metalist Kharkiv's President, Oleksandr Yaroslavsky.

The South Stand contains a three story shopping mall - business center "Metalist-Arena". The offices are rented here by UkrSibbank, several local businesses, and other banks. There is a pharmacy, a medical office, tour agencies, and other businesses.

On 19 December 2010 the Kharkiv City Council asked the Kharkiv Oblast Council to transfer the Metalist Stadium to the municipal ownership of the city. The then new owner of Metalist Serhiy Kurchenko proposed late December 2012 to buy Kharkiv municipal authorities' share in the Metalist Stadium. He did so in August 2013; from then (technically) the stadium owner is Metalist Stadium Sports Complex LLC, which is part of Metalist which is owned by Kurchenko.

UEFA Euro 2012 matches

The stadium was one of the venues for the UEFA Euro 2012. Three group B matches were played there (with the other matches in that group played at Arena Lviv).

The following matches were played at the stadium during the UEFA Euro 2012:

Date	Time (CEST / EEST)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round	Scored
9 June 2012	18.00 / 19.00	Netherlands	0–1	Denmark	Group B	Michael Krohn-Dehli
13 June 2012	20.45 / 21.45	Netherlands	1–2	Germany	Group B	Mario Gómez Robin van Persie
17 June 2012	20.45 / 21.45	Portugal	2–1	Netherlands	Group B	Cristiano Ronaldo Rafael van der Vaart

See also

• KhTZ Stadium
• Dynamo Stadium (Kharkiv)

External links

• Google Virtual Tour
• Virtual tour of the stadium Metalist
• WebCams