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 Interactive map of Hrazdan Stadium Հրազդան մարզադաշտ | |
| Location | Yerevan, Armenia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°10′49.45″N44°29′41.88″E / 40.1804028°N 44.4949667°E /40.1804028; 44.4949667 |
| Owner | Government of Armenia |
| Operator | Hrazdan Central Stadium CJSC |
| Capacity | 54,208[1] |
| Record attendance | 78,000 (Ararat Yerevan 3-0Kairat Almaty, 19 May 1971) |
| Field size | 105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | Yes |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1969–70 |
| Opened | 29 November 1970 |
| Renovated | 2008, 2012 |
| Architect | Koryun Hakobyan, Gurgen Musheghyan |
| Structural engineer | Edward Tossunian |
| Tenants | |
| FC Pyunik (1992–1998) Armenia national football team (1992–1999) FC Ararat Yerevan (1971–2015) | |
Hrazdan Stadium (Armenian:Հրազդան մարզադաշտ) is a multi-use,all-seater stadium inYerevan, Armenia, opened in 1970. Being the largest sports venue in Armenia, Hrazdan was mostly used forfootball matches. It was the home stadium of theArmenia national football team until 1999 and has hosted the occasional international game since then. The stadium is able to host 54,208 spectators[2] after the most recent reconstruction in 2008, which converted the stadium into an all-seater one. Before the reconstruction, Hrazdan was able to hold up to 70,000 spectators. It was among the top four stadiums of theSoviet Union by its capacity. The stadium hosted theArmenian Cup finals on many occasions, as well as the opening ceremony of thePan-Armenian Games in 2003. TheSoviet Union national team played two games, against Finland and Greece, in Hrazdan in 1978.
The idea of building a football stadium in the Hrazdan Gorge was first proposed by Soviet Armenian statesmanAnastas Mikoyan during one of his visits to Yerevan during theKhrushchev Thaw. While staying at his residence overlooking theHrazdan River, he observed a natural amphitheater in the gorge and proposed the construction of a football venue with a capacity of 20,000 seats.[3]
However, the idea was not seriously pursued until 1967 when the leadership ofSoviet Armenia launched a program to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Armenia'ssovietization in 1970. A group of architects, led by former weightlifter Koryun Hakopyan and formerfencer Gurgen Musheghyan proposed the construction plan of a football stadium in the Hrazdan Gorge, to host around 75,000 spectators.
A total amount of 5 million rubles was allocated for the project. The construction works were launched during the second half of 1969 and with the financial support ofCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation, completed in a remarkable period of 18 months.[4]
The construction process was highly supervised by the Communist leaderKaren Demirchyan. Finally, the venue became ready in November 1970. The official opening of the stadium took place on 29 November 1970 with the presence ofLeonid Brezhnev, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Armenian SSR. However, the planned ceremony for the opening day was postponed due to heavy snow.
The history of the stadium is closely related with the history of Armenian football. The Stadium which was built in a record period of 18 months, is the first in the world that was built in a mountainous landscape.
The architects of the stadium were Koryun Hakobyan and Gurgen Musheghyan from Armenia. The construction process was supervised by engineer Edward Tossunian. The architectural group of the stadium was granted the award of the best construction of the year in 1971 and honoured by the Soviet Government.[5]
Hrazdan Stadium hosted its first official football match on 19 May1971 whenArarat Yerevan defeatedKairat Almaty 3-0 in front of 78,000 spectators, with Alexandr Kovalenko (58th min), Oganes Zanazanyan (74th min. pen.) and Nikolai Kazaryan (77th min.) scoring for the hosts.[6]
The stadium hosted some glorious moments of the Armenian football during Soviet era. The Armenians celebratedArarat Yerevan's double of the Soviet football in 1973, which allowed them to play in theEuropean Cup. Reaching the quarterfinals, they lost the first leg to the defending and future championsBayern Munich with a result of 2-0 while they won the 2nd leg 1-0 in Hrazdan stadium in front of more than 70,000 spectators.
In 1985, Hrazdan was one of the venues of theFIFA World Youth Championship took place in the Soviet Union. It hosted the matches of the 1st group as well as a match during the quarter-finals.
After the independence of Armenia, the arena hosted the matches of the national team until 1999 when the smallerRepublican Stadium in downtown Yerevan became its home ground. The largest number of spectators for the National team was recorded on 9 October 1996 in a1998 World Cup qualification match againstGermany. Attended by 42,000 fans, the match ended in a 5-1 win for Germany.
In 2003 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 againstTurkey on 6 September 2008, which was the first matchArmenia had played at ground since aEuro 2000 qualifying match againstFrance on 8 September 1999. The crucial match was attended by presidentsSerzh Sargsyan andAbdullah Gul, with the presence of more than 30,000 spectators.
After the 2008 renovation, Hrazdan held UEFA three-star status until that rating was superseded by anew system of classification.
According to the president of Armenian Football FederationRuben Hayrapetyan, a total of 6 million Euros will be spent for the modernization of the infrastructure, the pitch, the running track and the installation of a full-tribune cover for the stadium. After the upcoming renovation, the stadium will have an opportunity to bid as a host-venue for UEFA club competitions final matches.[7] The renovation works began in March 2012.[8] An estimated US$ 10 million was invested.[9]
In 1989, a year after the1988 Armenian earthquake that killed 25,000 people and left more than 500,000 homeless, along with the break out of theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War and the rise of theKarabakh movement and nationalism, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were looking for some kind of temporary diversion from the devastation and feeling the importance of national activities. More than 110,000 fans packed the Hrazdan stadium to hear revolutionary and patriotic songs performed by the Armenian famous singerHarout Pamboukjian. Then-Minister of Culture Yuri Melik-Ohanjanian remarked this was the highest-attended performance in the history of Armenia.
Top 10 matches forArarat Yerevan with the highest attendance during the Soviet era:[10][11][12][13][citation needed]
