Hrazdan Stadium is a multi-use,
all-seater stadiumAn all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
in
YerevanYerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
,
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, built and opened in 1970. With the financial support of
Calouste Gulbenkian FoundationThe Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a Portuguese private foundation of public utility whose statutory aims are in the fields of arts, charity, education, and science...
, the stadium was built in a remarkable period of 11 months.
Being the largest sports venue in Armenia, Hrazdan is mostly used for
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
matches. It is the home stadium of
FC Ararat YerevanFC Ararat Yerevan , is an Armenian football club, based in Yerevan. Currently, the club plays in the Armenian Premier League, and is one of the most popular teams in Armenia.- History :...
and Ulisses. The stadium is able to host 53,849 after the most recent reconstruction in 2008, which converted the stadium to an all-seater one. Before the reconstruction, "Hrazdan" was able to hold up to 75,000 spectaors. It was among the top five stadiums of the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
by its capacity. The stadium hosted the
Armenian CupThe Armenian Independence Cup is the main football cup competition of Armenia. In its original form as the Armenian Cup, it started in 1939, when Armenia was a republic of the Soviet Union. It served as a qualification tournament for the Soviet Cup, and it was not disputed by Armenian teams in the...
finals during many occasions as well as the opening ceremony of the
Pan-Armenian GamesThe Pan-Armenian Games are a multi-sport event, held between competitors from the Armenian diaspora and Armenia. They consist of various competitions in individual and team sports among the Armenian athletes...
in 2003. Hrazdan was also one of the home grounds of the
USSR national teamThe Soviet Union National Football Team was the national football team of the Soviet Union. It ceased to exist after the break up of the Union...
during the late period of the Soviet Union.
History
The stadium was built during 1970 and completed within 11 months. The official opening of the stadium took place in November of the same year with the presence of
Leonid BrezhnevLeonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
. It was designated to to host 75,000 spectators.
However, Hrazdan hosted its first official football match on 19 May 1971 when
Ararat YerevanFC Ararat Yerevan , is an Armenian football club, based in Yerevan. Currently, the club plays in the Armenian Premier League, and is one of the most popular teams in Armenia.- History :...
defeated Kairat Almaty 1-0.
The stadium hosted some glorious days of the Armenian football during Soviet era. The Armenians celebrated
Ararat YerevanFC Ararat Yerevan , is an Armenian football club, based in Yerevan. Currently, the club plays in the Armenian Premier League, and is one of the most popular teams in Armenia.- History :...
's double of the Soviet football in 1973, which allowed them to play in the
European Cup. Reaching the quarterfinals, they lost the first leg to defending and future champion Bayern Munich with a 2-0 while they won the 2nd leg 1-0 in Hrazdan stadium in front of a remarkable 75,000 spectators.
In 1989, a year after the 1988 Spitak Earthquake that killed 25,000 people and left more than 500,000 homeless, along with the break out of the
Karabakh movementThe Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
and the rise of nationalism, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were looking for some kind of temporary diversion from the devastation and feeling the importance of nationalist activities. More than 110,000 fans packed the Hrazdan stadium to hear revolutionary and patriotic songs performed by the Armenian famous singer
Harout PamboukjianHarout Pamboukjian , , is an Armenian American pop singer living in Los Angeles. His Armenian dance, folk and revolutionary songs make him a favorite among Armenians.- Early life :...
. Then-Minister of Culture Yuri Melik-Ohanjanian remarked this was the highest-attended performance in the history of Armenia.
After the independence of Armenia, the arena hosted the matches of the national team until 1999 when a smaller stadium in downtown Yerevan; the Hanrapetakan Stadium became its home ground. The largest number of spectators for the National team was recorded on October 9, 1996, in a
1998 World Cup qualificationListed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone .A total of 50 UEFA teams entered the competition. The European zone was allocated 15 places in the final tournament...
match against
GermanyThe Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
which was ended in the favour of the Germans with the result of 5-1 and attended by more than 50,000 fans.
In 2004 the stadium was privatized and sold to the Hrazdan Holding CJSC, who began to set up a renovation process in 2005. By the end of 2008 the stadium became all-seater.
Shortly after its renovation the Stadium hosted Armenia's match against
TurkeyThe Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...
on 6 September 2008, which was the first match
ArmeniaThe Armenia national football team represents Armenia in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia, the governing body for football in Armenia...
had played at ground since a Euro 2000 qualifying match against
FranceThe France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
on 8 September 1999. The crucial match was attended by presidents Serzh Sargsyan and
Abdullah GulDr. Abdullah Gül, GCB is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002-03, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003-07....
, with the presence of more than 38,000 spectators.
The Stadium has also been used as a concert venue for the Tata Simonyan 2010 world tour.
Architecture
The history of the stadium is closely related with the history of Armenian football. The Stadium which was built in a record period of 11 months (which is unique for such constructions), is the first in the world to be built in a mountainous area.
The architects of the stadium were K. Hakobian and G. Musheghian from Armenia. The construction process was supervised by engineer E. Tossunian. The architectural group of the stadium was awarded with the title of the best construction of the year in 1971 and honoured by the Soviet government.
Besides the grandstands, the stadium has 10 tiers with the capacity of 600 spectators. "Hrazdan" is served by 4 light towers which include 625 projectors.
After the reconstruction, Hrazdan held UEFA three-star status until that rating was superseded by a new system of classification.
Future plans
According to the president of Armenian Football Federation Mr. Ruben Hayrapetyan, a total of 6 million Euros will be spent for the modernization of Hrazdan stadium. After the upcoming renovation, the stadium will have an opportunity to bid as a host-venue for UEFA club competitions final matches.
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