Elbasan Arena (Albanian: Elbasan Arena, formerly known as Ruzhdi Bizhuta) is a multi-purpose stadium in Elbasan, Albania. The stadium was completed in 1967 and has been the home ground of KF Elbasani ever since. The stadium was under reconstruction and was officially inaugurated on 8 October 2014 in time for the match against Denmark, valid for the qualifiers of UEFA Euro 2016, with total capacity of 12,800,[1] making it the 3rd largest in Albania, after the Air Albania Stadium in Tirana.
Elbasan Arena first opened in 1967 under the name of Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadion who was one of KF Elbasani’s most famous players. Constructed in the 1960s, the ground was built to replace the club’s former ground which had slowly become a set of outdated facilities.
For the majority of Ruzhdi Bizhuta’s history, the stadium has been used exclusively by KF Elbasani but in January 2014 it was announced that the ground would host Albania’s qualification matches of Euro 2016. This decision was taken by the Albanian Football Federation in order to allow the usual national stadium Qemal Stafa to undergo extensive renovation work.
2014 Reconstruction
Before Elbasan Arena could host the matches however it would have to undergo refurbishment itself, and in total over €5.5 million[3] invested into the stadium. Work to bring up the stadium to UEFA’s required standards began in February 2014, and finished 7 months later in October.
Cheering at Elbasan Arena
Numerous improvements were made to the stadium including the installation of new floodlights, 12,500 new plastic seats, new changing rooms, executive seating areas, new scoreboards, and to top it all of a brand new playing surface was laid.
The stadium then reopened on 8 October when Albania hosted Denmark[4] in their second qualification match of the campaign. Played out in front of a sell-out crowd of 12,800 – the record attendance to date, Albania earned a 1-1 draw against their more favoured opposition.
Inauguration
The opening ceremony of the stadium was held on 11 October 2014,[5] with a historical exhibition match against Denmark. Playing for the first time at the recently refurbished Elbasan Arena, the hosts grabbed a 38th-minute lead through Ermir Lenjani's deflected strike but Denmark substitute Lasse Vibe slotted home an 81st-minute equaliser as the Group I rivals went joint-top.
^"Shqipëri- Danimarkë, ndeshja e parë në "Elbasan Arena". Ja çmimi i biletave".
^. Albanian Football Association. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
January 04, 2023
elbasan, arena, albanian, formerly, known, ruzhdi, bizhuta, multi, purpose, stadium, elbasan, albania, stadium, completed, 1967, been, home, ground, elbasani, ever, since, stadium, under, reconstruction, officially, inaugurated, october, 2014, time, match, aga. Elbasan Arena Albanian Elbasan Arena formerly known as Ruzhdi Bizhuta is a multi purpose stadium in Elbasan Albania The stadium was completed in 1967 and has been the home ground of KF Elbasani ever since The stadium was under reconstruction and was officially inaugurated on 8 October 2014 in time for the match against Denmark valid for the qualifiers of UEFA Euro 2016 with total capacity of 12 800 1 making it the 3rd largest in Albania after the Air Albania Stadium in Tirana Elbasan ArenaUEFA stadium category LocationSheshi Ruzhdi Bizhuta 1 3001 Elbasan AlbaniaCoordinates41 06 57 15 N 20 05 31 17 E 41 1158750 N 20 0919917 E 41 1158750 20 0919917 Coordinates 41 06 57 15 N 20 05 31 17 E 41 1158750 N 20 0919917 E 41 1158750 20 0919917OperatorFSHFCapacity12 800 1 Record attendance12 800 Albania vs Denmark 11 10 2014 Euro 2016 2 Field size105 m 68 m 344 ft 223 ft SurfaceGrassConstructionOpened1967Renovated2001 2014TenantsAlbania national football team 2014 present Contents 1 History 1 1 2014 Reconstruction 1 2 Inauguration 2 ReferencesHistory EditElbasan Arena first opened in 1967 under the name of Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadion who was one of KF Elbasani s most famous players Constructed in the 1960s the ground was built to replace the club s former ground which had slowly become a set of outdated facilities For the majority of Ruzhdi Bizhuta s history the stadium has been used exclusively by KF Elbasani but in January 2014 it was announced that the ground would host Albania s qualification matches of Euro 2016 This decision was taken by the Albanian Football Federation in order to allow the usual national stadium Qemal Stafa to undergo extensive renovation work 2014 Reconstruction Edit Before Elbasan Arena could host the matches however it would have to undergo refurbishment itself and in total over 5 5 million 3 invested into the stadium Work to bring up the stadium to UEFA s required standards began in February 2014 and finished 7 months later in October Cheering at Elbasan Arena Numerous improvements were made to the stadium including the installation of new floodlights 12 500 new plastic seats new changing rooms executive seating areas new scoreboards and to top it all of a brand new playing surface was laid The stadium then reopened on 8 October when Albania hosted Denmark 4 in their second qualification match of the campaign Played out in front of a sell out crowd of 12 800 the record attendance to date Albania earned a 1 1 draw against their more favoured opposition Inauguration Edit The opening ceremony of the stadium was held on 11 October 2014 5 with a historical exhibition match against Denmark Playing for the first time at the recently refurbished Elbasan Arena the hosts grabbed a 38th minute lead through Ermir Lenjani s deflected strike but Denmark substitute Lasse Vibe slotted home an 81st minute equaliser as the Group I rivals went joint top 11 October 201420 45 UTCAlbania1 1DenmarkErmir Lenjani 38 Lasse Vibe 81 Elbasan Arena ElbasanAttendance 12 800Referee Viktor Kassai Albania 4 3 3 GK 1 Etrit BerishaRB 4 Elseid HysajCB 5 Lorik CanaCB 15 Mergim MavrajLB 7 Ansi AgolliDM 13 Burim KukeliCM 22 Amir AbrashiCM 14 Taulant Xhaka 82 RW 2 Andi Lila 87 LW 3 Ermir LenjaniCF 19 Bekim Balaj 69 Substitutions GK 12 Orges ShehiGK 23 Alban HoxhaCB 6 Debatik Curri 87 RW 8 Herolind ShalaFW 9 Edmond KapllaniLM 10 Valdet Rama 82 RM 11 Emiljano VilaFW 16 Sokol Cikalleshi 69 CM 17 Alban MehaFW 18 Hamdi SalihiCM 20 Ergys KaceMF 21 Armando VajushiManager Gianni De Biasi Denmark 4 3 3 GK 1 Kasper SchmeichelRB 2 Peter AnkersenCB 3 Simon KjaerCB 5 Andreas BjellandLB 7 Nicolai BoilesenRM 9 Pierre Emile HojbjergCM 10 William KvistLM 11 Christian EriksenRW 12 Yussuf PoulsenLW 19 Michael Krohn DehliCF 23 Nicklas BendtnerManager Morten OlsenReferences Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category Elbasan Arena a b Elbasan Arena Albania Football Tripper 8 August 2015 Albania Denmark European Qualifiers 2016 Union of European Football Associations Elbasan Arena Stadiumi Ruzhdi Bizhuta Elbasan ACP Albanian Construction Portal Shqiperi Danimarke ndeshja e pare ne Elbasan Arena Ja cmimi i biletave Elbasan Arena te merkuren inagurimi Albanian Football Association Archived from the original on 16 December 2017 Retrieved 26 June 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elbasan Arena amp oldid 1106280644, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
