Euro 2012 Host Cities in Poland: Stadiums and Fan Zones - practical information
, ostatnia aktualizacja 2012-06-08 15:43:24
euro 2012, euro 2012 in Poland, euro 2012 stadiums, euro 2012 fan zones
The National Stadium will be the venue for:
- three group matches
Poland - Greece, Friday, 8 June, kick-off 6 p.m.
Poland - Russia, Tuesday, 12 June, kick-off 8.45 p.m.
Greece - Russia, Saturday, 16 June, kick-off 8.45 p.m.
- one quarter-final
A1-B2, Thursday, 21 June, kick-off 8.45 p.m.
- one semi-final
winner, quarter-final 2 - winner, quarter-final 4,
Thursday, 28 June, kick-off 8.45 p.m.
The state-of-the-art National Stadium was built from scratch especially for the EURO 2012 championships. Situated on the right bank of the Vistula river, on the site of its predecessor, the post-war Tenth Anniversary Stadium (Stadion Dziesięciolecia), it will be the venue for three group matches, including the official opening ceremony and opening match, as well as one quarter-final and one of the semi-finals. Its facade, which is lluminated at dusk, is designed to resemble a rippling flag in red and white, the Polish national colours. The open structure of the exterior elevation allows natural ventilation and daylight into the interior. The heated pitch is covered with a retractable glass roof, and four large relay screens (each 54 m˛) offer improved visibility to fans seated higher up in the stands. The stadium can be reached from the city centre in 5-10 minutes by the Rapid Urban Railway (Szybka Kolej Miejska, Warszawa Stadion stop), as well as by city bus and tram services. A dedicated metro station on a new line is scheduled to open in 2013. There is a direct bus service from Warsaw's Chopin Airport to the stadium, taking around 30 minutes. The National Stadium, at about € 450 million Poland's biggest sporting investment ahead of EURO 2012, also has a fully fitted modern conference centre ccommodating 1,600, and another similar but smaller facility for 300. The nine levels of this vast complex incorporate a total of 25,000 m of office and commercial space, four restaurants, including one 40 metres above the Vistula with a view of the Old Town, a fitness club, a multi-faith chapel, and a "fan pub" licensed for several hundred people.
In the immediate vicinity of the stadium is the 58-hectare Ignacy Jan Paderewski Memorial Skaryszewski Park, founded at the beginning of the 20th century in the spirit of Art Nouveau and modernism. This green space features over 300 species of trees and shrubs, paths running the perimeter of Kamionkowski Lake and the other smaller water features, and, in a separate, dedicated area, a range of sports and recreation facilities.
How to get there:
from Warsaw Chopin Airport to the city centre: bus services 175, 188 and N32 (night bus). From the centre, e.g. from Warszawa Śródmieście railway station, to the National Stadium: rapid urban railway (SKM), trams 8, 9, 22, 24 and 25, buses 102, 111, 158, 166, 507, 517, 521 and night buses N22 and N24.
Information about the National Stadium in Poland:
Designed by: a consortium of JSK Architekci sp. z o.o.,
gmp International GmbH, and Schlaich Bergermann und Partner
Construction period: October 2008?December 2011
Capacity: 58,000 seats
Stadium dimensions: 259 x 227 x 50 metres (plus 70-metre high needle)
Roof area: 64,800 m
VIP boxes: 69 (800 seats) plus 900 spaces for the media
Business-class seating: 2,000
Fan Pub: 1,800 m˛
Seats for the disabled: 106
Gastro outlets: 30
Cash desks: 135
Parking spaces: cars - 1,758, coaches - 450
Fan Zone in Warsaw
Even the National Stadium cannot accommodate all the fans who want to watch the matches, whether at the group, quarter-final or semi-final stages. So a Fan Zone has been designated that will be able to accommodate over 100,000 more people at any one time. Its location is the city-centre Defilad Square (Plac Defilad), around the unmissable Palace of Culture and Science, where a space of 120,000 m has been given over for two stages, eight huge relay screens, several small gastro outlets (7,000 m˛ in all), sanitation facilities comprising 400 toilets and washbasins, 40 professional first aid patrols, and stationary medical points. Aside from its superb central location (public transport can carry 158,000 people here every hour!) and its proximity to the National Stadium itself, Defilad Square is a tried and tested traditional venue for mass events catering to hundreds of thousands of participants. On match days it will be patrolled by over 1,000 security personnel. Fan Zone Warsaw will open the day before the first match, i.e. on 7 June 2012, and close its doors on 2 July, the day after the final in Kyiv. On match days the Fan Zone will be open from 10 a.m. until 4 a.m., and on other days from 10 a.m. till 1 a.m.