 The stadium in 2008 | |
| Location | Racławicka 132, 01-999 Warsaw, Poland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52°11′57″N20°59′32″E / 52.19917°N 20.99222°E |
| Capacity | 9,000 |
| Closed | 2012 |
The Gwardia Warsaw Stadium (Polish : Stadion Gwardii Warszawa) was a 9,000-capacity multi-use stadium in Warsaw, Poland. It was primarily used for association football and later motorcycle speedway. [1]
The site was originally part of the Mokotów Airport from 1910 to 1947 before being developed for sport. From the 1950s, it contained a football and speedway stadium, training pitches, tennis courts and swimming facilities. [1]
In 1955, it was handed over to the Gwardia Warsaw sports club, although the land remained in the ownership of the State Treasury.
The facility at Racławicka Street hosted important home fixtures for the Gwardia Warsaw football team, although the most significant ones such as the 1955–56 European Cup and 1957–58 European Cup were held at the Polish Army Stadium. [2]
In 1971, the site came under management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In 1993, the 383m long athletics track was removed and in 2000, forty years after the last speedway in Warsaw [3] the Gwardia Warsaw sports club introduced a speedway section and a team by the name of WSŻ Gwardia Warszawa entered the 2000 Polish speedway season in the Polish Speedway Second League, racing at the stadium. [4] The 2002 season resulted in promotion to 1. Liga. [5] but the 2003 1.Liga season was a disaster, WKM Warszawa ending the campaign bottom of the table with just four points and then disbanding.
Music concerts of world stars were also organised at the facility, including: Aerosmith (1994), Tina Turner (1996), Sting (1996 and 2001), Metallica (1999), Roger Waters (2002), Carlos Santana, Iron Maiden (2008) and Andrea Bocelli (2009).
In 2007, ownership of the site was taken over by the Police. [1] In 2012, the stadium was closed due to its poor condition and since 2019, it has been owned by the Internal Security Agency. [6]
Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków, is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. It currently competes in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system. It ranks fourth in the number of national titles won (13), behind Górnik Zabrze, Ruch Chorzów, and Legia Warsaw (15), and second in all-time victories. Wisła was founded in 1906 under the name TS Wisła.
Legia Warszawa, commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a record 20 Polish Cup and 5 Polish SuperCup trophies. The club's home venue is the Polish Army Stadium. Legia is the only Polish club never to have been relegated from the top flight of Polish football since World War II.
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Gwardia Warszawa was a Polish sports club based in Warsaw. The club was founded in 1948. It participated in the Polish 1st League from 1953–1960, 1962–1966, 1967–1968, 1969–1975, 1978–1979 and 1981–1983. The biggest success was finishing 2nd in the Polish Championship in the 1957 season. Gwardia was the first club in the history of Polish football to take part in European cup in 1955–56 season. The club was dissolved in 2018.
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