For years plans of building new stadia in Hungary were being presented just to be dropped months later. Now it seems at least those two are going to make it and start serving people of Budapest and Debrecen.

Albert Flórián Stadion

At least temporarily it retains its name as the new ground is to be built at the current site. But it will not mean a redevelopment, the new one will be rotated by 90 degrees and include no elements of the current structure. This has been a plan since 2008, but so far we only hear of a new concept every 2 years, while no construction works started. This is the third attempt already. Let’s briefly view the previous ones. This is how the ground was to look in 2008:

Construction deadline of 2010 hadn’t obviously been met, but the 22,000-venue with a large business centre accompanying from the east was still the plan when different planners sat on a new design in 2010. Capacity without major changes, design quite the opposite. A reviewed proposal looked like this:

And was to be built in 2012. Since it’s mid-2012 and no works are going to start soon, we may well say it won’t be built. Especially that in April club president announced this vision is no longer on the table. Or anywhere near it. Initially planned to be privately funded, the stadium is now to be built with public money.

No more commercial infrastructure, just a very simple stadium with capacity around the one planned initially. 22,600 (29 skyboxes included) is far above Ferencavros’s reach, but authorities expect average attendance should rise by 80% in the very first season, exceeding 10,000 per game. When would those games be played? It seems first one is possible in 2014, after 16 months of construction works. Let’s just hope we won’t see a different vision two years from now.

Nagyerdei Stadion

Exactly 100 years after having opened the Great Forest Stadium (as Nagyerdei Stadion is translated) a new one is to be opened in its location. This time without athletics track, but still hidden in the extensive park of Debrecen with numerous alleys leading to the city centre.

With capacity over 20,000 it will be among Hungarian league’s largest, just as is the club tenant for it – Debreceni VSC. With regular crowds in excess of 7,000 it is the second most popular club in the country now and the numbers should rise significantly as current venue is a rather poor one.

Company responsible for the project was established by the government back in 2010, but only in May was the design presented to the public. And now we present it to you!