Stadionul Naţional (1953)
| Stadionul Național | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Full name | Stadionul Național |
| Former names | 23 August |
| Location | Bucharest, Romania |
| Built | 1953 |
| Opened | 2 August 1953 |
| Closed | 22 November 2007 |
| Demolished | 18 December 2007–20 February 2008 |
| Owner | Municipality of Bucharest |
| Operator | Romania |
| Capacity | 60,120 (football, rugby) 70,000 (concerts) |
| Tenants | |
| Romania FC Steaua București FC Dinamo București 1981 Summer Universiade |
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| Cupa României Final | 2006, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1991, 1990, 1988, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1988, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1966, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1959, 1958, 1953 |
The National Stadium (2 August 1953 - 22 November 2007) was a multi-purpose stadium in Bucharest, Romania. The stadium held 60,120 people.
It was built in 1953, for the 4th World Festival of Youth and Students. According to the book București published in 1968 by Institutul Proiect București, Complexul Sportiv 23 August was designed by the well known architect Vily Juster.
It was first known as Stadionul 23 August, and later on as Stadionul Național (National stadium). The sports complex that included Național Stadium, is named Lia Manoliu after the famous Romanian athlete.
It was used mostly for football matches.
It hosted numerous concerts after the 1989 Revolution, including Michael Jackson's Dangerous World Tour concert on October 1, 1992, as well as the HIStory World Tour concert on September 14, 1996. Some 100,000 people attended the concert, which was also the only one to be broadcast live by the HBO channel; it has since been the highest rated program to air on HBO and had the largest TV audience in history.
In October 2005, it was decided to rebuild the stadium completely; however, initially no funding was found, so some repairs proceeded in lieu of rebuilding. Later, funds became available and the rebuilding is expected to begin in November 2007. The plan calls for completion of a new five-star arena by April 2010. The last football match played was a 6-1 win against Albania on November 21, 2007. After the match, a few seats were removed from the stadium, as a symbolic start of the rebuilding operations. The stadium has subsequently been demolished to make room for a new one.
References
| Preceded by Estadio Olímpico Universitario  Mexico |
Universiade 1981 |
Succeeded by Commonwealth Stadium  Canada |