Noul stadion din Constanța – design description

When were the plans to build a new stadium in Constanţa conceived?

The Farul Stadium in Constanta was opened in 1954, with Farul, for years the most important club in the city, being the main user of the facility. After relegation from the first division in 2009, the team began to face serious financial and organizational problems, and even went bankrupt and was reborn in 2016, before managing to return to the second tier of the competition as early as 2018.

At the same time, in 2009, Gheorghe Hagi, a native of the Constanța area and one of the best Romanian footballers ever, founded his own club Viitorul Constanța. Already in 2012, the team was in the first division and in 2017 it even won the national championship. The club built its training base in Ovidiu (about 10 km north-west of the center of Constanţa) along with a modest stadium, opened in 2015, where it played its matches.

The aging Farul stadium, on the other hand, was beginning to fall into disrepair. Its stands were beginning to fall apart, with many seats missing. In 2018, the facility was taken over by the city from the state in order to make the necessary investments. On July 31, 2020, the mayor of Constanţa, Decebal Făgădău, presented an ambitious project to build a new football facility to replace the Farul stadium. On May 31, 2021, the last match was played in the old stadium.

What was the first concept for the new stadium in Constanţa?

You can see the first architectural concept of the new stadium in Constanţa on a separate subpage

According to the concept presented in 2020, the new stadium should accommodate a minimum of 15,000 spectators and was to refer to the maritime traditions of Constanţa – its façade was to resemble the hull of a ship. The stadium was to present a high standard and meet UEFA Category 4 requirements. Next to it, a smaller stadium dedicated to rugby was envisaged, as well as a tennis complex and an administration building. The whole project was to cost more than half a billion lei.

When was the second concept for the new stadium in Constanţa conceived?

In June 2021, the merger between Viitorul, founded by Gheorghe Hagi, and Farul took place. The idea was that this would lay the foundations for a strong club representing the city. A new stadium was, of course, to help realize this goal. The merged club was named Farul, to emphasize the continuity of tradition. In 2023, the team won the Romanian championship.

In October 2022, new renderings of the planned stadium were shown, showing the facility in a simpler form, although still modern and meeting UEFA Category 4 standards. In addition, the assumed capacity of the stadium, which was now to hold 18,190 spectators, was increased, and an athletics facility was also planned in the surrounding area.

When will the new stadium in Constanţa be built?

A tender for the design and construction of the new stadium was announced in February 2023. Two entities entered the tender, the consortium of Construcții Erbașu SA and Tracon SRL and the consortium of SSAB AG SA, Metag Insaat Ticaret AS and Atelier Unbuilt SRL. In July 2023, demolition of the old stadium began, and shortly afterwards the Compania Națională de Investiții (CNI), which is leading the investment, announced the award of the contract to the Erbașu and Tracon consortium.

The bid of the consortium led by SSAB AG SA was rejected due to formal errors, which the entity appealed in court. The appeal delayed the start of the investment. Finally, on November 6, 2023, the court dismissed the application, so that work can still start in 2023.

The value of the contract is more than 379 million lei. The investment is to be financed mainly by the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, with support from the budget of the city of Constanţa. Construction of the new stadium is expected to take 28 months.

What will the new stadium in Constanța be like?

The new facility will be built on the site of the old Farul stadium and will have a capacity of 18,190 spectators. The stadium will receive a football-specific layout, with stands surrounding the pitch on all sides, divided into an upper and lower section. The entire auditorium will be covered and exclusive boxes will be created in the stands along the pitch. Among other things, the facility will be equipped with heated turf and is expected to meet UEFA Category 4 requirements.

Externally, the stands will be covered by a façade of horizontal slats and a raised platform will be built around the stadium. In the surrounding area, a new administration building, a tennis complex and a modest athletics stadium are planned.