Stadionul Ion Oblemenco – historical stadium description

Initially known simply as the Central Stadium, it wasn't really central in terms of location. Sitting south of the strict center of Craiova, it was the city's largest sports venue since opening in 1967. The very first game was played between Romania and Poland, though further internationals weren't too frequent.

In 1980s, during Universitatea's heyday, it was the site of memorable games with the like of Bayern, Inter, Benfica or Leeds. From 1996 onwards its name was Ion Oblemenco, to commemorate the late legend of local football.

Following the modernisation in 2002 it became one of Romania's most modern venues. All-seater with brand new floodlights, it was downsized from its 30,000+ capacity to just beyond 25,000 and yet it again attracted games of the national team.

Despite modest efforts to keep it up-to-standards, the old landfill terracing with 25 rows of seats soon proved obsolete. In 2014 the very last game was played here and construction of the successor, for the first time without a running track, began the following year.