 View of the Old Arena Kombëtare | |
 | |
| Location | Sheshi Italia 1, 1010 Tirana, Albania |
|---|---|
| Owner | Football Association of Albania |
| Operator | Football Association of Albania |
| Capacity | 16,230[1] |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | August 1939 |
| Opened | 7 October 1946 |
| Closed | 20 May 2016 |
| Demolished | June 2016 |
| Tenants | |
| Dinamo Tirana (1946–2016) KF Partizani Tirana (1946–2016) Albania national football team (1946–2015) | |
The Qemal Stafa Stadium (Albanian: Stadiumi Qemal Stafa), named after Qemal Stafa (1920–1942), a World War II hero, was a national stadium and the largest football stadium in Tirana, Albania. Construction started in 1939 and the stadium was inaugurated in 1946 for the Balkan Cup, which was won by the Albania national football team. The stadium has been used for football matches of the Albanian Superliga and the national team, athletic events, and the six Albanian Spartakiads. Although it was enlarged in 1974 to accommodate up to 35,000 spectators, in the 1990s it became an all-seater stadium, and its capacity was reduced to 19,700.
The stadium was demolished in June 2016 to make way for the new national stadium called the Arena Kombëtare, was constructed on the same site and opened in November 2019.[2] The Football Association of Albania and the Albanian government divide the property rights of the stadium between them; the football association holds 75% rights and the government 25%.[3] National Arena, with a capacity of over 22,500 spectators built at a cost of €60 million.[4] The new stadium is football-only; the athletics track was removed. It meets the highest UEFA category.[5]
- ^ "First Division Clubs in Europe" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-05-26. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
- ^ Shembet "Qemal Stafa". "Shemben 4 tribuna, lamtumirë stadiumi "Qemal Stafa" (FOTO)". Panorama. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
FSHF websitewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
topchannelwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Stadium Project. "National Arena Project". Albanian Football Association. Archived from the original on 2018-05-12.