Pancho Aréna

(Redirected from Pancho Arena)

Pancho Aréna is a stadium in Felcsút, Hungary. It is primarily used for football matches and serves as the home stadium for Puskás Akadémia FC. Between 2015 and 2018, the stadium also hosted the three-time champions Fehérvár FC due to the reconstruction of Sóstói Stadion.

Pancho Aréna
Map
LocationFelcsút, Hungary
OwnerFelcsúti Utánpótlás Neveléséért Alapítvány
OperatorPuskás Akadémia FC
Capacity3,865
Field size105x68m
SurfaceGrass
Field
Construction
Broke ground2012
Opened21 April 2014
Construction costHUF 3.8 billion
ArchitectImre Makovecz
Tamás Dobrosi
Structural engineerLászló Pongor
Tenants
Puskás Akadémia FC
Fehérvár FC (2016–2018)

History

The stadium officially opened on 21 April 2014, featuring the final of the 2014 Puskás Cup.[1][2]

On 26 April 2014, the first Hungarian League match was played at the stadium between Puskás Akadémia and Videoton. The match ended with 3–1 away win.[3]

On 30 June 2016, the first UEFA Europa League match took place at the stadium when Videoton FC, now MOL Fehérvár FC, and FC Zaria Bălți met in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League. It occurred in Pancho Aréna due to the demolition of Videoton's home stadium, Sóstói Stadion.[4]

Pancho Aréna was listed among the top three most beautiful stadiums of the world according to stadiumdb.com: "The wood-lined curved interior to the stand gives spectators the feeling that they are attending a Sunday church service, not a football match. The 3,500 seater stadium opened in 2014 and was the brainchild of local architect Imre Makovecz".[5]

On 26 March 2018, the first international match was played at the stadium when Bulgaria hosted Kazakhstan in a friendly match. The match ended with a 2–1 win for Bulgaria.[6]

On 31 October 2023, it was announced that the Israel national football team would play their remaining UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Switzerland and Romania at the stadium, a decision influenced by the ongoing 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[7][8] On 15 November 2023, Israel hosted Switzerland and drew at the stadium.[9] On 18 November 2023, Israel hosted Romania in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match.[10] Romania beat Israel 2-1 and qualified for the UEFA Euro 2024.[11]

Controversy

Many allegations of corruption have surfaced regarding the stadium,[citation needed] as Hungary's current prime minister, Viktor Orbán (known for his passion for football), spent much of his childhood in the village. Pancho Arena was built just meters away from his Felcsút estate.[12] Although the stadium was not constructed directly using government funds, companies that provided the majority of the funding won several high-value public procurement procedures during Orbán's prime ministership. Additionally, Orbán's government passed laws granting benefits to companies supporting sports investments. Allegations were fueled by the fact that the stadium seats 3,500 people, while the total population of the village is under 1,700.[citation needed]

Milestone matches

v Videoton
26 April 2014 Puskás Akadémia 1–3 Videoton 2013–14 Nemzeti Bajnokság I
First Nemzeti Bajnokság I match
Tischler 63'(Report)Nikolić 20'
Zé Luís 74'
Filipe Oliveira 78'
Attendance: 3,633
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
v Zaria Bălți
30 June 2016 Videoton 3–0 Zaria Bălți 2016–17 UEFA Europa League
(First UEFA Europa League match)
[(Report)]Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albanian)
v F91 Dudelange
17 July 2018 (2018-07-17) MOL Vidi 2–1 F91 Dudelange 2018–19 UEFA Champions League (first UEFA Champions League match)
20:15ReportAttendance: 2,514[citation needed]
Referee: Donald Robertson (Scotland)

Milestone matches (youth squad)

v La Fábrica
21 April 2014 Puskás Akadémia 0–1 La Fábrica 2014 Puskás Cup Final
(First match)
(Report)Miguel Garcia 49'Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
v Celtic
4 November 2015 Puskás Akadémia 1–0 Celtic 2015–16 UEFA Youth League
(First international match)
Damásdi 20'(Report)Attendance: 1,230
Referee: Vadims Direktorenko (Latvia)

International

v Kazakhstan
24 March 2018 Bulgaria 2–1 Kazakhstan Friendly
Popov 23'
Bodurov 90+4'
(Report) 55' TungyshbayevAttendance: 100
Referee: Bognár

Attendances

As of 21 December 2018

Puskás Akadémia only played three matches at the Pancho Aréna during the 2013–14 season.[13] This table includes only domestic league matches.

SeasonPuskás Akadémia FCRef
DivisionGPAverageChangeHighest GateLowest Gate
2014–15NB I151,6493,812vs Ferencváros704vs Szombathelyi Haladás[14]
2015–16NB I161,699+3.0%3,798vs Ferencváros708vs Paks[15]
2016–17NB II15818–49.5%1,537vs Balmazújváros460vs Budaörs[16]
2017–18NB I161,199+46.6%3,127vs Ferencváros200vs Debrecen[17]
2018–19NB I171,340+11.8%3,865vs Ferencváros120vs Kisvárda[18]

References

47°27′50″N 18°35′12″E / 47.4640°N 18.5868°E / 47.4640; 18.5868


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