View source for Donbas Arena

{{Short description|Football stadium in Donetsk, Ukraine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Expand Ukrainian|topic=struct|Донбас Арена|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox venue
| name = Donbas Arena
| nickname = 
| image = Donetsk Donbass Arena 30.jpg
| image_size = 280px
| caption = '''[[UEFA stadium categories|UEFA Category 4 Stadium]]'''<br>{{rating|4|4}}|
| former_names = 
| location = [[Donetsk]], [[Ukraine]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|48|1|15|N|37|48|35|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| broke_ground = 27 June 2006
| built = 
| opened = {{start date and age|2009|08|29|df=yes}}
| renovated = 
| expanded = 
| closed = 2014 (due to [[War in Donbas (2014–2022)|war in Donbas]])
| demolished = 
| owner = [[Shakhtar Donetsk]]
| operator = Donbas Arena
| surface = [[Grass]]
| scoreboard = 
| construction_cost = [[Hryvnia|₴]] 545 million
| suites = 
| architect = [[Arup Group Limited#Sports|Arup Sports]]<ref>[http://www.arup.com/Projects/FC_Shakhtar_Stadium.aspx Official data of stadium issued by arup] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218080637/http://www.arup.com/Projects/FC_Shakhtar_Stadium.aspx |date=2012-02-18 }}</ref>
| project_manager = 
| structural engineer = 
| services engineer = 
| general_contractor = [[Enka İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş.|ENKA]]
| main_contractors = 
| capacity = 52,187
| record_attendance = 
| dimensions = {{convert|105|x|68|m|abbr=on}}
| tenants = [[FC Shakhtar Donetsk|Shakhtar Donetsk]] (2009–2014)
}}

'''Donbas Arena''' ({{langx|uk|Донбас Арена}} {{IPA|uk|donˈbɑs ɐˈrɛnɐ|}}; {{langx|ru|Донбасс Арена|Donbass Arena}}) is a stadium with a natural grass pitch in [[Donetsk]], [[Eastern Ukraine|eastern]] [[Ukraine]], that opened on 29 August 2009. The facility is located in the center of the city, in the [[Lenin Comsomol park]]. With a capacity of 52,187 spectators, the stadium used to host [[FC Shakhtar Donetsk|Shakhtar Donetsk]] matches and also hosted some matches of [[UEFA Euro 2012]]. The final cost of construction for Donbas Arena was $400M.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://donbass-arena.com/en/news/?id=9922 |title=Donbass Arena Ready to Open |access-date=2010-09-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710144136/http://donbass-arena.com/en/news/?id=9922 |archive-date=2011-07-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://euro2012-ukraine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=3 Donbass Arena: More than Elite] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104080824/http://euro2012-ukraine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=3 |date=January 4, 2011 }}</ref> The stadium has been unused and closed to the public since May 2014, due to the [[War in Donbas (2014–2022)|war in Donbas]].

The name of the stadium represents the simplified and shortened name of the [[Donets Basin]]{{emdash}}huge industrial region of Donbas, hence{{emdash}}'''D'''on'''b'''as ([[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]: '''''Дон'''ецький '''бас'''ейн'' or ''Донбас'').

==Construction and design==

[[File:UA Donezk Zentralstadion-Schachtar Neubau.jpg|thumb|250px|Construction site in August 2007]]
Construction began in 2006. The general contractor was a Turkish company [[Enka İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş.|ENKA]]. The Stadium was completed and opened in 2009. About 1,600 specialists, mainly Turkish, were involved in the construction.

Donbas Arena was designed by ArupSport. It was Project Managed by Arup Major Projects (Project Director Charles Goddard).  Arup Sport also designed the [[City of Manchester Stadium]] (Manchester, England), [[Allianz Arena]] (Munich, Germany) and the [[Beijing National Stadium]] (Beijing, China). The soaring roof effect makes the Stadium resemble a flying saucer. The stadium has an oval shape and a glazed façade and is located near [[RSC Olimpiyskiy|Regional Sport Complex Olimpiyskyi]]. The roof of the stadium slopes from north to south matching the landscape and contributing to the natural lighting and airing of the pitch. The external lighting makes the Stadium shine at night. A major design consideration was the ongoing protection of as much of the forest setting as possible (each tree having been planted in commemoration of deceased family members in the Great Patriotic War, and the exclusion zones to the neighbouring war memorials. A major geotechnical fault exists some 100m below the ground directly under the centre-spot. The building's foundations and piling was a major sub-project.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arup's specialist sport architects at Donbass Arena - Arup|url=https://www.arup.com/en/projects/fc-shakhtar-stadium|website=www.arup.com|language=en|access-date=2020-04-30}}</ref>

==Opening==
[[File:Donetsk Donbass Arena 30.jpg|thumb|Donetsk Donbas Arena in 2012]]
The Donbas Arena was completed ahead of schedule, but the grand opening was delayed until 29 August 2009 to coincide with the Ukrainian holiday of Miners Day, as well as Donetsk City day. Donetsk is in the Donbas region, a mining region, and the date was chosen for its symbolism. The primary tenant of the facility is the local professional football club [[FC Shakhtar Donetsk|Shakhtar Donetsk]] ("Donetsk Coal Miners").

American Pop/R&B singer-songwriter [[Beyoncé]] performed a show from her [[I Am... (Beyoncé tour)|I Am... World Tour]] on the opening night of the new stadium. It was Knowles' first performance in Ukraine.<ref>[http://www.kyivpost.com/guide/46234 Beyonce to perform at the opening of Donbass Arena]</ref> Beyoncé performed her famous hit [[Halo (Beyoncé Knowles song)|Halo]] to honour the memory of [[Michael Jackson]], who would have had his birthday on that day.

Many state officials attended the show designed by K-events Filmmaster Group. The opening ceremony was awarded as ''Event of the Year'' at the [[Stadium Business Awards]] on 18 June 2010 in [[Dublin]].

Shakhtar Donetsk's first match at the stadium was a 4–0 victory in a [[2009–10 Ukrainian Premier League]] fixture on 27 September 2009 against [[FC Obolon Kyiv]].<ref name="New Shakhtar">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090902054318/http://www.uefa.com/competitions/uefacup/news/kind=1/newsid=880944.html New Shakhtar stadium opens doors]</ref> The first international game took place on 18 November 2009 against [[Greece national football team|Greece]], which [[Ukraine national football team|Ukraine]] lost 0–1 failing to qualify for the [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round|2010 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Information about the Donbass Arena stadium at the FC Shakhtar Donetsk official site {{!}} FC Shakhtar Donetsk official site|url=https://shakhtar.com/en/club/infrastructure/donbass-arena/|website=shakhtar.com|access-date=2020-04-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Donbass Arena - Donetsk - The Stadium Guide|url=https://www.stadiumguide.com/donbassarena/|last=says|first=Chris|date=9 October 2013 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-30}}</ref>

==UEFA Euro 2012 matches==
Donbas Arena was included in the official bidding project submitted by Poland and Ukraine for hosting [[UEFA Euro 2012]]. The stadium was one of the venues for the UEFA Euro 2012. The stadium hosted group D stage games and one quarter-final and one semi-final game (with the other matches in that group played at [[Olimpiysky National Sports Complex|Olimpiyskyi National Sports Complex]]). Unlike most new stadiums being built in Poland and Ukraine, Donbass Arena was not specifically built for the tournament.

The following matches were played at the stadium during the UEFA Euro 2012:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"
|-
!Date
!Time ([[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] / [[EEST]])
!Team #1
!Res.
!Team #2
!Round
!Scorer(s)
|-
|11 June 2012||18:00 / 19:00|| rowspan="2" |{{fb|FRA}}||style="text-align:center;"|1–1||{{fb|ENG}}|| rowspan="3" |[[UEFA Euro 2012 Group D|Group D]]||style="text-align:center;"|[[Joleon Lescott]]<br>[[Samir Nasri]]
|-
|15 June 2012||18:00 / 19:00|| style="text-align:center;" |2–0|| rowspan="2" |{{fb|UKR}}|| style="text-align:center;" |[[Jérémy Ménez]]<br>[[Yohan Cabaye]]
|-
|19 June 2012||20:45 / 21:45||{{fb|ENG}}||style="text-align:center;"|1–0|| style="text-align:center;" |[[Wayne Rooney]]
|-
|23 June 2012||20:45 / 21:45||{{fb|ESP}}||style="text-align:center;"|2–0||{{fb|FRA}}||[[UEFA Euro 2012 knockout stage#Spain vs France|Quarter-final]]||style="text-align:center;"|[[Xabi Alonso]] (2)
|-
|27 June 2012||20:45 / 21:45||{{fb|POR}} ||style="text-align:center;"|0–0 {{aet}}<br>{{pso|2–4}}||{{fb|ESP}}||[[UEFA Euro 2012 knockout stage#Semi-finals|Semi-final]]||style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
|}

==Other uses==
[[File:Donezk Donbass Arena 37.JPG|thumb|Merchandise in the Shakhtar shop]]
[[File:Ultras in the Donbas Arena, 2009.JPG|thumb|Shakhtar Ultras in the stadium]]
The project of new stadium "Donbas Arena" was conceived long before Ukraine was named as co-host of [[Euro 2012]]. The [[Rinat Akhmetov|owner]] considered the possibility of daily use of the arena. "Donbas Arena" includes three restaurants, a lounge-bar, a fan cafe, numerous fast-food outlets, retail outlets, a fitness center, corporate boxes and first aid rooms. The stadium also provides facilities for corporate events - presentations, press conferences, celebrations and concerts. Stadium [[Walking tour|tours]] are available which include an examination of the unique features of Donbas Arena, a visit to the footballers' rooms and FC Shakhtar Museum and a visit to the FC Shakhtar brand shop for [[souvenirs]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ukrainian football giants: Five years in exile|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/sports/ukrainian-football-giants-five-years-in-exile/1431088|website=www.aa.com.tr|access-date=2020-04-30}}</ref>

The stadium was an inspiration for one of the multiplayer maps in the 2020 [[Battle royale game|battle royale video game]] ''[[Call of Duty: Warzone]]'', which depicts several real-life locations in Donetsk.<ref>{{Cite web |title=All Warzone locations in real life: Stadium, Airport, Tower & more |url=https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/all-warzone-locations-in-real-life-ukraine-donetsk-1355373/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=Dexerto |date=23 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carr |first=Joey |title=Should the Stadium be opened in Warzone? |url=https://www.ggrecon.com/articles/should-the-stadium-be-opened-in-warzone/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=www.ggrecon.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Russo-Ukrainian War==
On 20 May 2014, the stadium hosted a small "Peace March" against the violence of the [[2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine]] and the [[self-proclaimed]] [[Donetsk People's Republic]].<ref name=APM20514>[https://news.pn/en/politics/104499 Akhmetov called a strike at the enterprises in protest], Ukrainian Media Group (20 May 2014)<br>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27483719 Ukrainian tycoon Rinat Akhmetov confronts rebellion], [[BBC News]] (20 May 2014)<br>[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/205611.html Akhmetov's "Peace March" in Donetsk took 20 minutes], [[Interfax-Ukraine]] (20 May 2014)<br>[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/205526.html Businessman Akhmetov condemns 'genocide of Donbas,' calls for peaceful rally against 'Donetsk People's Republic'], [[Interfax-Ukraine]] (20 May 2014)</ref>

On 22 August 2014, the stadium was damaged by what was reported to be artillery shelling, as the Ukrainian armed forces clashed with pro-Russian separatists for control of the city.<ref name="Shakhtar stadium hit by explosions">[https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/champions-league-shakhtar-stadium-hit-explosions-122728614--sow.html Champions League - Shakhtar stadium hit by explosions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120222/https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/champions-league-shakhtar-stadium-hit-explosions-122728614--sow.html |date=2014-08-26 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-09-05|title=Shakhtar Donetsk: The Ukrainian serial winners forced to flee from war|language=en-gb|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49535480|access-date=2020-04-30}}</ref>

On 20 October 2014, the stadium was again damaged by what was reported to be artillery shelling. This time, the stadium sustained damage to the east and west sides and at least one large glass panel fell near a young girl.<ref name="Near miss for young girl at Donetsk stadium as blast hits">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29716678 Near miss for young girl at Donetsk stadium as blast hits]</ref>

Since July 2014, due to the danger of the ongoing conflict in Donetsk, Shakhtar used the [[Arena Lviv]] in the city of [[Lviv]] in western Ukraine ({{convert|600|miles}} away from Donetsk) as their temporary home ground.<ref name="Shakhtar Donetsk move training and games over Ukraine conflict">{{cite news |title=Shakhtar move base and home games |work=BBC Sport |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115121010/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/28440553 |archive-date=2023-01-15 |url-status=live |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/28440553}}</ref> In early 2017, the club moved their home games to the [[Metalist Oblast Sports Complex|Metalist Stadium]] in [[Kharkiv]] ({{convert|183|miles}} to the north-west of Donetsk).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190901201647/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/dcunited/still-in-exile-shakhtar-donetsk-picks-new-home/2017/01/30/6e1f075c-e6f4-11e6-903d-9b11ed7d8d2a_story.html Still in exile, Shakhtar Donetsk picks new home], [[The Washington Post]] (30 January 2017)</ref> Additionally, the club's administrative headquarters and player training sessions have been re-located to the capital city of Kyiv.<ref name="Shakhtar Donetsk's Donbass Arena damaged by shelling">[https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29694885 Shakhtar Donetsk's Donbass Arena damaged by shelling]</ref>

The stadium has remained unused and closed to the public since FC Shakhtar were forced to abandon it.

===Russian invasion of Ukraine===
In March 2022, during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the Donbas Arena Football infrastructure continued to suffer from the war in Ukraine. The main stadium of Donetsk suffered some damage.<ref>{{cite web |title="Донбас-Арена" постраждала внаслідок обстрілу |url=https://sportyvka.com.ua/donbas-arena-postrazhdala-vnaslidok-obstrilu.html |website=www.sportyvka.com.ua |access-date=24 March 2022}}</ref>

==Facts==
{{trivia section|date=May 2022}}
* {{convert|7668|m²|sqft|0|abbr=on}} natural turf will be used with {{convert|2201|m²|sqft|0|abbr=on}} synthetic turf
* The total area of the construction site (including mobilization areas) is 254,907 m<sup>2</sup>
* The land (including pitch), where the Stadium is located, is 46,780 m<sup>2</sup>
* The height of the new stadium is 54m from pitch level to the top of the roof.
* There are 227 lavatories with 471 toilets and 333 wash basins.
* Over 120,000 m³ of concrete were poured during construction of the Stadium
* Approximately 4,300 tonnes of steel were used for construction
* Approximately 3,800 tonnes of steel were used for the roof structure.
* Total glazing area is approximately 24,000 m<sup>2</sup>
* The total area of the tiers is approximately 70,000 m<sup>2</sup>
* The size of the football field is {{convert|105|x|68|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}

{{clear}}
{{portal|Association football|Ukraine}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080924084136/http://donbass-arena.com/en/ Donbass Arena official website]
* [http://shakhtar.com/en/news/7574 Rinat Akhmetov: The new stadium's name is Donbass Arena]

{{FC Shakhtar Donetsk}}
{{Euro 2012 stadiums}}
{{Venues of Ukrainian PL}}
{{War in Donbas}}

[[Category:FC Shakhtar Donetsk]]
[[Category:Football venues in Donetsk Oblast]]
[[Category:Sport in Donetsk]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 2009]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Donetsk]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Donetsk Oblast]]
[[Category:SCM Holdings]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Donetsk Oblast]]