Euro 2012 Stadiums
Stadium in Gdańsk / Renata Dąbrowska / Agencja Gazeta
Stadion Baltic Arena
Currently the PGE Arena Gdańsk, because that is what the Gdańsk stadium will be called for the next five years. The Polish Energy Group (Polska Grupa Energetyczna) is the title sponsor of this premises in Gdańsk Letnica, the home of the Sports Club Lechia Gdańsk. Built at a cost of 645 million zł, the stadium holds 44 000 spectators. As part of the Euro 2012 football championships, three group matches and a quarter-final match will be held here. The Gdańsk Arena surprises, not only in its shape, which is reminiscent in appearance to amber, but also the idea and finishing related to ancient shipbuilding techniques. As you know, a good ship must be stable and lightweight. Centuries ago, the builders of Gdańsk Hanza built boats with wooden framed hulls with 'stretched skin,' or made the vessel hull from wooden planks. The stadium developers have benefited from this idea. The girders and slabs of the roof structure and façade appear like ship bulkheads and planks. The Baltic Arena Gdańsk building produces an unusual effect: the upper modules become more transparent and create the impression of a moving object in the sky. Artificial paths lead to the Arena from the west and east then ascend toward the stadium, and their slopes are covered with unusual plants.