Wikipedia

Silesian Stadium

The Silesian Stadium (Polish: Stadion Śląski; Polish: [ˈstadjɔn ˈɕlɔ̃skʲi]) is a sport stadium located on the premises of Silesian Park in Chorzów, Poland. The stadium has a fully covered capacity of 54,378,[1] after a recent refurbishment completed in October 2017. The stadium hosted many Poland national football team matches and for many decades was Poland's national stadium. After the National Stadium in Warsaw was completed, the Silesian Stadium lost that role. The stadium was not in operation between 2009 and 2017 due to its ongoing reconstruction.

Silesian Stadium
"Kocioł Czarownic" (Witches' Cauldron)
UEFA Category 4 Stadium
Map
Full nameSilesian Stadium
(pl. Stadion Śląski)
Locationul. Katowicka 10
41-500 Chorzów
Silesia, Poland
OwnerSilesian Regional Assembly
OperatorStadion Śląski Sp. z o.o.
Capacity54,378
Record attendance130,000 (1973 Speedway World Championship
2 September 1973)
Field size105 x 68 m
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Built1951–1956
Opened22 July 1956
1 October 2017
Expanded2009–2017
Construction costc. 650 million PLN
c. 155 million €
ArchitectGMP Architekten
Tenants
Poland national football team (1956–2009, 2018– )
Ruch Chorzów
KS Stadion Śląski Chorzów
Website
Official Website

Silesian Stadium is a UEFA Category 4 stadium[2] and hosts the annual Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, a Diamond League meeting.[3] The stadium hosted the athletics events of the 2023 European Games and is set to host the 2028 European Athletics Championships.[4]

History

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In 1950, as a part of an ambitious project to build Silesian Park, plans for Silesian Stadium were drawn up by Julian Brzuchowski.[5] Construction began in 1951, and the stadium opened in 1956. The stadium was inaugurated on 22 July 1956 with a match against East Germany.

In 1993, the stadium officially was branded as Polish national stadium, due to the state of the venue in Warsaw. The stadium regularly hosted football matches, as well as concerts and other events.[citation needed]

Modernization

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Silesian Stadium was one of the venues shortlisted for UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, but it did not make the final list. The venue was also shortlisted as the Polish candidate for UEFA Euro 2020.[6]

 
Football jerseys of the Polish national team in the locker room of the stadium

From 2009, the stadium underwent modernization which included the construction of a 43,000 square metre roof, new stands, lighting, video screens and an improved sound system. The speedway track has been replaced with a traditional track that will allow Chorzów to host international athletics events. The new roof collapsed in 2011[7] putting project on hold. Though originally planned to be completed by autumn 2011 for 415 million złoty, the finishing touches were only completed in 2017 costing around 650 million złoty.

Events

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Football

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Poland national football team

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[8]

Before renovation
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No. Date Match Result Turnout
1 22 July 1956   Poland –   East Germany 0–2 90,000
2 20 October 1957   Poland –   Soviet Union 2–1 93,000
3 11 May 1958   Poland –   Republic of Ireland 2–2 80,000
4 14 September 1958   Poland –   Hungary 1–3 90,000
5 28 June 1959   Poland –   Spain 2–4 71,469
6 8 November 1959   Poland –   Finland 6–2 22,000
7 26 June 1960   Poland –   Bulgaria 4–0 25,000
8 25 June 1961   Poland –   Yugoslavia 1–1 57,000
9 5 November 1961   Poland –   Denmark 5–0 12,000
10 10 October 1962   Poland –   Northern Ireland 0–2 31,496
11 2 June 1963   Poland –   Romania 1–1 40,000
12 23 May 1965   Poland –   Scotland 1–1 67,462
13 3 May 1966   Poland –   Hungary 1–1 95,000
14 5 July 1966   Poland –   England 0–1 70,000
15 21 May 1967   Poland –   Belgium 3–1 57,050
16 24 April 1968   Poland –   Turkey 8–0 17,000
17 30 October 1968   Poland –   Republic of Ireland 1–0 18,000
18 7 September 1969   Poland –   Netherlands 2–1 85,000
19 14 October 1970   Poland –   Albania 3–0 8,507
20 6 June 1973   Poland –   England 2–0 73,714
21 26 September 1973   Poland –   Wales 3–0 70,181
22 10 September 1975   Poland –   Netherlands 4–1 70,409
23 24,March 1976   Poland –   Argentina 1–2 60,000
24 21 September 1977   Poland –   Denmark 4–1 80,000
25 29 October 1977   Poland –   Portugal 1–1 80,000
26 4 April 1979   Poland –   Hungary 1–1 60,000
27 2 May 1979   Poland –   Netherlands 2–0 71,298
28 26 September 1979   Poland –   East Germany 1–1 63,938
29 6 June 1980   Poland –   Czechoslovakia 1–1 45,000
30 2 May 1981   Poland –   East Germany 1–0 74,000
31 2 September 1981   Poland –   West Germany 0–2 70,000
32 22 May 1983   Poland –   Soviet Union 1–1 69,044
33 11 September 1985   Poland –   Belgium 0–0 68,978
34 16 November 1985   Poland –   Italy 1–0 20,000
35 19 October 1988   Poland –   Albania 1–0 35,000
36 11 October 1989   Poland –   England 0–0 32,423
37 25 October 1989   Poland –   Sweden 0–2 12,000
38 29 May 1993   Poland –   England 1–1 65,000
39 2 April 1997   Poland –   Italy 0–0 32,000
40 31 May 1997   Poland –   England 0–2 32,000
41 27 May 1998   Poland –   Russia 3–1 7,000
42 31 March 1999   Poland –   Sweden 0–1 28,860
43 1 September 2001   Poland –   Norway 3–0 42,500
44 6 October 2001   Poland –   Ukraine 1–1 20,900
45 29 March 2003   Poland –   Hungary 0–0 42,200
46 10 September 2003   Poland –   Sweden 0–2 18,500
47 8 September 2004   Poland –   England 1–2 38,000
48 3 September 2005   Poland –   Austria 3–2 40,000
49 31 May 2006   Poland –   Colombia 1–2 40,000
50 11 October 2006   Poland –   Portugal 2–1 38,199
51 17 November 2007   Poland –   Belgium 2–0 41,450
52 1 June 2008   Poland –   Denmark 1–1 35,000
53 11 October 2008   Poland –   Czech Republic 2–1 38,293
54 5 September 2009   Poland –   Northern Ireland 1–1 38,914
55 14 October 2009   Poland –   Slovakia 0–1 4,500
After renovation
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No. Date Match Result Turnout
1 27 March 2018   Poland –   South Korea 3–2 53,129
2 11 October 2018   Poland –   Portugal 2–3 48,783
3 14 October 2018   Poland –   Italy 0–1 41,692
4 11 November 2020   Poland –   Ukraine 2–0 0[a]
5 18 November 2020   Poland –   Netherlands 1–2 0[a]
6 29 March 2022   Poland –   Sweden 2–0 54,078

All-time results

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Team Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
  Poland 61 26 18 17 98 63 +35

Club football

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Numerous Ekstraklasa matches have been played - mostly by the local team Ruch Chorzów, especially for the Great Silesian Derby matches against neighbours Górnik Zabrze due to extra interest from the fans.[9] As it used to be the only national stadium with such a large capacity in the country for numerous years, Polish Cup matches have been frequently hosted there too,[10] especially the final matches.[11]

 
Panorama of the Silesian Stadium, 2017

Speedway

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The football pitch at the Silesia Stadium used to be surrounded by a 384 metres (420 yards) long Motorcycle speedway track. The first World Final held at the stadium in 1973, was run in front of the largest crowd in world speedway history.[12] English speedway 'golden boy' Peter Collins won the 1976 World Final at Silesian.[13]

Ivan Mauger won the 1979 World Final at the stadium.[14] Silesian also hosted the Final of the 1974 Speedway World Team Cup, won by England, as well as the Final of both the 1978 and 1981 World Pairs Championships.[15]

The stadium will host the final round of the Individual Speedway European Championship on 21 September 2024.[16]

Track and field

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Orlen Monster Jam

In 1967, the Silesian Stadium hosted the Polish Athletics Championships. In 1969, during an athletics tournament between Poland, East Germany and Soviet Union, Nadezhda Chizhova became the first woman in history to break the 20 metre barrier in shot put, setting the world record at 20.09m.[17] In 2010, an official bid to organize the World Athletics Championships in Chorzów was submitted, however, the city lost to Beijing in the selection process.[18]

The Slaski Stadium has a Mondo Sportflex Super X 720 track that was laid down in 2017, which has features similar to other Mondo surfaces which were used for the last two World Athletics Championships as well as the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Between 9–12 June 2018, the 11th Polish Summer Special Olympics Games took place at the Silesian Stadium.[19] On 22 August 2018, the stadium was chosen to host the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, which attracted 41,200 spectators.[20]

In May 2021, Silesian Stadium hosted the 2021 World Athletics Relays and European Team Championships Super League.

Concerts and other events

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Silesian Stadium has hosted large music concerts in its history by many artists and groups including The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, U2, Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, Iron Maiden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, The Police, Behemoth, Rammstein, Slipknot, Machine Head.[21][22]

In 2009, it was the venue of performances by Monster Jam,[23][24] and again in 2018.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b The match was played without an audience due to pandemic restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout Poland.

References

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  1. ^ "Stadion Śląski – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  2. ^ "Stadion Śląski w najwyższej kategorii według UEFA! Co to znaczy?". Dziennik Zachodni. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  3. ^ "IN THE DIAMOND LEAGUE FOR GOOD! SILESIAN STADIUM MAKING ATHLETICS HISTORY!". silesia.diamondleague.com. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  4. ^ "CZEGOŚ TAKIEGO JESZCZE U NAS NIE BYŁO! POLSKA ORGANIZATOREM LEKKOATLETYCZNYCH MISTRZOSTW EUROPY W 2028 ROKU" (in Polish). 30 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Silesian Stadium: Back in Business!". InYourPocket. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Silesian Stadium picked as Euro 2020 candidate". Radio Poland. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Poland: Śląski slowly rising to glory (?) again". Stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Stadion Śląski". Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Górnik - Ruch 0:2. Wielkie Derby Śląska dla Niebieskich [ZDJĘCIA + RELACJA + WIDEO]". 21 February 2016. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Stadion Śląski". Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Stadion Śląski". Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Stadion Śląski". Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  13. ^ "Stadion Śląski". Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  14. ^ "Stadion Śląski". Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  15. ^ "Stadion Śląski". Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  16. ^ "Slaski Stadium finale for the 2024 SEC Series". FIM Speedway. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Progression of Official World Record". Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  18. ^ "MŚ 2015 na Stadionie Śląskim? Odpadliśmy na starcie". Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  19. ^ "XI Ogólnopolskie Letnie Igrzyska Olimpiad Specjalnych". Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  20. ^ "REKORDOWY MEMORIAŁ KAMILI SKOLIMOWSKIEJ". Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  21. ^ "Stadion Ślaski wraca na muzyczną mapę Polski. Wspominamy najważniejsze koncerty". Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  22. ^ "Stadion Śląski Chorzów Gigography, Concert History, Past Events – Songkick". www.songkick.com. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  23. ^ "Newsy". Archived from the original on 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  24. ^ "Chorzów oszalał na punkcie Monster Jam [Zdjęcia]". 31 May 2009. Archived from the original on 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  • Gazeta Wyborcza
    • "Pół wieku Stadionu Śląskiego" Część 1, 26 czerwca 2006, page: 1, 2, 3, 4
    • "Pół wieku Stadionu Śląskiego" Część 3, 10 lipca 2006, page: 1, 2, 3, 4
    • "Pół wieku Stadionu Śląskiego" Część 4, 17 lipca 2006, page: 1, 2, 3, 4
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