It’s already the third new stadium in Romania to see groundbreaking this year. While works continue in Craiova and Targu Jiu, also Arad will have a brand new stadium.

Entirely new stadium in Arad is to be built in the place of old Stadionul Francisc von Neumann, almost in the centre of the city. None of the old ground exists now as it was demolished earlier this year.

Before planning began it was decided the field and floodlights would be retained in their existing form. This determined size and layout of the stands, because there is no room for corner sections due to roads and existing buildings.

Since 2009 there was a concept of a stadium with four independent stands able to hold over 12,000 people. This means the designed stadium wouldn’t outgrow its predecessor (at peak size in history). Initial proposal by Radu Puica suggested there would be a circular tensile roof covered with membrane, but that idea was later verified in favour of a more modest one, seeing each stand covered separately.

General construction contract was signed in 2014 and gives the contractor 36 months to complete the stadium. However, the future anchor tenant UTA Arad announced on its website that works might end much sooner than expected, already in 2016.

The stands alone would cost RON 32.7 million, but additional 4.9 million was awarded in 2015 to build a heated field. The overall budget of RON 37.63 million is app. €8.5m or $9 million.