Philip II Arena

National Arena Philip II of Macedonia
Арена Филип II Македонски

"Philip II of Macedonia" National Arena
Национална арена "Филип II Македонски"

Former names	City Stadium of Skopje
Location	Skopje, Macedonia
Coordinates	42°0′20.64″N 21°25′32.13″E / 42.0057333°N 21.4255917°ECoordinates: 42°0′20.64″N 21°25′32.13″E / 42.0057333°N 21.4255917°E
Operator	JPSSO
Capacity	33,460[1]
Record attendance	31,657 (Macedonia-Spain, 8 September 2015)
Field size	105 x 68 meters
Surface	Grass
Scoreboard	LED
Construction
Opened	1947
Expanded	2011
Tenants
FK Vardar FK Rabotnički Macedonia national football team

National Arena Philip II of Macedonia (Macedonian: Арена Филип II Македонски, Arena Filip II Makedonski) is a multi-purpose stadium in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. Named after the ancient King Philip II of Macedon, it is currently used mostly for football matches, but sometimes also for music concerts or other events. It is the home stadium of FK Vardar and FK Rabotnički from Skopje, both of which compete in the Macedonian First League, as well as the home ground of the Macedonia national football team on almost all occasions (the other venues rarely chosen being the Goce Delčev Stadium in Prilep, or SRC Biljanini Izvori in Ohrid). On 30 June 2015 the UEFA announced that the National Arena Filip II of Macedonia will host the 2017 UEFA Super Cup, Macedonia's first UEFA club competition final.^[2]

Reconstruction and expansion

The project for the south stand was designed in 1977 by architects Dragan Krstev and Todorka Mavkova from Beton. Construction of the stadium in its present form began in 1978, with the building of the south stand, which took two years to finish. The reconstruction and expansion started after a long delay in project implementation in January 2008. The construction of a new north stand was finished in August 2009 and was put in use on 2 August 2009, the Macedonian national holiday "Ilinden". Ten days later, on 12 August, the Macedonia national football team played a friendly match against then World Champions Spain, as part of the 100-year anniversary of football in Macedonia.^[3] The reconstruction of the southern stand started in 2009, which was put into operation on 30 July of that year for the match between FK Rabotnički and FC Liverpool.^[4] Soon after, the construction of the new western and eastern stands started. By mid July 2012, the majority of the stadium was completed with the reconstruction of the new pitch and athletic track. On 25 July 2012, FK Vardar played FC BATE Borisov in the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League to re-open the stadium.^[5][6]

Construction cost

Since 2008, the stadium has seen investment of about two billion denari, or €32 million. The second phase, which got underway in November 2011, is the planned reconstruction of the pitch and athletic track. The athletic track around the pitch, from the original 6 will be extended to 8 running tracks and it will use Tartan track surface. Total cost for this phase is €3.5 million.^[7] By 2013 it should be finished with the completion of a new illuminated outer facade. The total construction cost for all actions related to the stadium in the period 2008-2013 is estimated to reach over €60 million.^[8]

Name

Before the name change to Philip II Arena at the beginning of 2009, the stadium was known as the Skopje City Stadium (Macedonian: Градски стадион Скопје, Gradski stadion Skopje).

Notable matches

• 1985–86 UEFA Cup First round, Second leg - 2 October 1985 between FK Vardar and FC Dinamo Bucureşti.^[9]
• 1987–88 European Cup First round, Second leg - 30 September 1987 between FK Vardar and FC Porto.^[10]
• 1992–93 Macedonian Cup Final - 23 May 1993 between FK Vardar and FK Pelister.^[11]
• UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying - 7 September 1994 between Macedonia and Denmark.^[12]
• UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying - 12 October 1994 between Macedonia and Spain.^[13]
• 2000–01 UEFA Cup First round, First leg - 14 September 2000 between FK Pobeda and AC Parma.^[14]
• 2003–04 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round, Second leg - 6 August 2003 between FK Vardar and CSKA Moscow.^[15]
• 2003–04 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round, First leg - 13 August 2003 between FK Vardar and AC Sparta Prague.^[16]
• UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying - 6 September 2003 between Macedonia and England.^[17]
• 2003–04 UEFA Cup First round, Second leg - 15 October 2003 between FK Vardar and AS Roma.^[18]
• 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - 9 October 2004 between Macedonia and Netherlands.^[19]
• 2005–06 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round, First leg - 27 July 2005 between FK Rabotnički and Lokomotiv Moscow.^[20]
• 2006–07 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round, Second leg - 23 August 2006 between FK Rabotnički and LOSC Lille.^[21]
• 2007–08 UEFA Cup First round, First leg - 20 September 2007 between FK Rabotnički and Bolton Wanderers.^[22]
• UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying - 17 November 2007 between Macedonia and Croatia.^[23]
• 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - 6 September 2008 between Macedonia and Scotland.^[24]
• 2010–11 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round, First leg - 29 July 2010 between FK Rabotnički and FC Liverpool.^[25]
• 2011–12 UEFA Europa League Play-offs, Second leg - 25 August 2011 between FK Rabotnički and SS Lazio.^[26]
• UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying - 8 September 2015 between Macedonia and Spain.^[27]
• 2017 UEFA Super Cup

Concerts

• 1994 – Lepa Brena held a concert held in front of 35,000 people.
• 1995 – Dragana Mirković held a concert held in front of 15,000 people.
• 2005 – Svetlana Ražnatović held a concert in front of 30,000 people.
• 2007 – Toše Proeski held a concert in front of 40,000 people.
• 2007 – Pink held a concert in front of 20,000 people.
• 2007 – Tarkan held a concert in front of 6,000 people.^[28]
• 2009 – Carlos Santana held a concert in front of 15,000 people.
• 2012 – Garo & Tavitjan Brothers with the project Macedonian heart beats in 7/8 featuring Nina Badrić, Željko Bebek, Dado Topić, Tereza Kesovija, Josipa Lisac, Kaliopi, Hari Varešanović, Sergej Ćetković, Goran Karan, Jelena Tomašević, Antonija Šola, and Aki Rahimovski, held a concert in front of 61,000 people honoring the 21 years of Macedonian independence.^[29]
• 2014 – Željko Joksimović held a concert in front of 50,000 people.

Gallery

• 

  Exterior shot

• 

  View from the south stand

• 

  Skopje view of Kliment Ohridski boulevard and Philip II Arena

• 

  Night shot

• 

  UEFA Europa League qualifying match between Rabotnički and Crusaders

• 

  Promotional poster

• 

  View from Skopje Fortress

References

1. http://www.fkvardar.mk/players?cid=7307&l=125
2. http://www.uefa.com/uefasupercup/news/newsid=2262118.html
3. MacedonianFootball.com
4. Liverpool Echo
5. MacedonianFootball.com
6. UEFA.com Vardar-BATE 0:0
7. http://vest.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=E45487999BBA984296390FF0961A71D1
8. http://www.beton.com.mk/en/istorija.shtml
9. Vardar-Dinamo Bucureşti 1:0; UEFA Cup First round
10. Vardar-Porto 0:3; European Cup First round
11. Vardar-Pelister 1:0; Macedonian Cup final
12. Macedonia-Denmark 1:1; UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
13. Macedonia-Spain 0:2; UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
14. Pobeda-Parma 0:2; UEFA Cup First round
15. Vardar-CSKA Moscow 1:1; UEFA Champions League 2nd qual. Round
16. Vardar-Sparta Prague 2:3; UEFA Champions League 3rd qual. Round
17. Macedonia-England 1:2; UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
18. Vardar-Roma 1:1; UEFA Cup First Round
19. Macedonia-Netherlands 2:2; FIFA World Cup qualification
20. Rabotnički-Lokomotiv Moscow 1:1; UEFA Champions League 2nd qual. Round
21. Rabotnički-Lille 0:1; UEFA Champions League 3rd qual. Round
22. Rabotnički-Bolton 1:1; UEFA Cup First Round
23. Macedonia-Croatia 2:0; UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
24. Macedonia-Scotland 1:0; FIFA World Cup qualification
25. Rabotnički-Liverpool 0:2; UEFA Europa League 3rd qual. Round
26. Rabotnički-Lazio 1:3; UEFA Europa League Play-offs
27. Macedonia-Spain 0:1; UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
28. Шекеровска, Катерина (19 June 2007). "Таркан - професионалец за спектакли". Utrinski vesnik. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
29. "61.000 гледачи на Филип Втори - спектакуларна прослава на Денот на независноста". Bukvar.mk. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2014.

External links

• Nacionalna Arena "Filip II Makedonski" - Skopje (German)
• Национална арена „Филип II Македонски" (Macedonian)
• Philip II Arena at WorldStadiums.com (English)
• Arena Philip II of Macedon at MacedonianFootball.com (English)
• Новиот градски стадион (photo gallery) (Macedonian)