Elbasan Arena

Elbasan Arena

UEFA stadium category:
Location	Sheshi Ruzhdi Bizhuta 1, 3001 Elbasan, Albania
Coordinates	41°06′57.15″N20°05′31.17″E / 41.1158750°N 20.0919917°E / 41.1158750; 20.0919917
Operator	FSHF
Capacity	12.800 [1]
Record attendance	12.800 Albania vs. Denmark (11/10/2014, Euro 2016) [2]
Field size	105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	1967
Renovated	2001, 2014
Tenants
Elbasani

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 and Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër.

History

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 Constructed in the 1960s, the ground was built to replace the club’s former ground which had slowly become a set of outdated facilities.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 Association 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 invested into the stadium. ^[3] 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.

Inauguration

The opening ceremony of the stadium was held on 8 October 2014, with an exhibition match between the national football team against the U-19 team of Futboll Klub Elbasani. ^[4] This was in preparation for a historical match against Denmark on 11 October. Playing 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 2014

20:45 UTC

Albania	1–1	Denmark
Ermir Lenjani 38'		Lasse Vibe 81'

Elbasan Arena, Elbasan

Attendance: 12,800

Referee: Viktor Kassai

Albania (4–3–3): GK 1 Etrit Berisha RB 4 Elseid Hysaj CB 5 Lorik Cana CB 15 Mërgim Mavraj LB 7 Ansi Agolli DM 13 Burim Kukeli CM 22 Amir Abrashi CM 14 Taulant Xhaka  82' RW 2 Andi Lila  87' LW 3 Ermir Lenjani CF 19 Bekim Balaj  69' Substitutions: GK 12 Orges Shehi GK 23 Alban Hoxha CB 6 Debatik Curri  87' RW 8 Herolind Shala FW 9 Edmond Kapllani LM 10 Valdet Rama  82' RM 11 Emiljano Vila FW 16 Sokol Cikalleshi  69' CM 17 Alban Meha FW 18 Hamdi Salihi CM 20 Ergys Kaçe MF 21 Armando Vajushi Manager: Gianni De Biasi

Denmark (4–3–3): GK 1 Kasper Schmeichel RB 2 Peter Ankersen CB 3 Simon Kjær CB 5 Andreas Bjelland LB 7 Nicolai Boilesen RM 9 Pierre-Emile Højbjerg CM 10 William Kvist LM 11 Christian Eriksen RW 12 Yussuf Poulsen LW 19 Michael Krohn-Dehli CF 23 Nicklas Bendtner Manager: Morten Olsen

References

1. "Elbasan Arena - Albania". Football Tripper. 8 August 2015.
2. "Albania-Denmark | European Qualifiers 2016". Union of European Football Associations.
3. "Elbasan Arena - Stadiumi Ruzhdi Bizhuta, Elbasan | ACP". Albanian Construction Portal.
4. "Elbasan Arena, të mërkurën inagurimi". Albanian Football Association. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2016.