The construction of the stadium was supposed to take three years, but unfortunately it took as long as six years. The final result is impressive, but a lot of controversy was caused by numerous shortcomings that cast a shadow over the entire project.

Shortcomings caused delays

The creation of Stadionul Francisc von Neuman began in June 2014 and was to take three years. Unfortunately, this deadline was not met, and the venue was finally put into operation in August 2020 with a 3-year delay. The stadium is located in the city centre of Arad and was built on the site of a well-worn facility of the same name, which was demolished in 2014.

The construction works were started by SC Tehnodomus SRL, which was also the author of the stadium design. Unfortunately, they did not manage to complete the construction due to numerous shortcomings. When the main contractor left the site, the stadium was 70% ready. The construction works were completed by Drast Company SRL, which entered the site in March 2020.

© Voicu Tămaş

The entire project cost € 14 million and was financed from public funds. The delay was due to numerous shortcomings. The stadium has very poor wind and rain protection as the corner sections of the stands were removed, but the list of faults is much longer.

When the assembly of the seats on the Tribuna II was completed, it turned out that they fit the letters UA, not UTA. However, this was later corrected. In January, there were problems with the installation of turf heating. Previously, there were issues with access to ticket offices and the arrangement of LED screens. The turf that was scorched by the sun last summer was also a worry.

In the original version, the hotel was to have 23 rooms, in the end it has only 13. The commercial space was to be much more complex than what was finally built. The stadium is still struggling with an insufficient number of parking spaces.

© Ministerul Tineretului și Sportului

Tribunes' arches as hallmark

The stadium has four unconnected stands without corner sections. Three of them are crescent-shaped, with the exception of the rectangular main stand. The roofing of each of the tribunes is independent of the others and is covered with trapezoidal sheet metal. 

The whole structure forms four arches towering over the auditorium. The stands do not have an outer casing. It was originally intended to be a membrane, but as a result of cost cutting, this solution was abandoned. White, red and gray colours predominate in the facade of the venue surrounding only the main stand.

It was decided to keep the lighting masts from the old facility, moreover, the location of the pitch remained in the same place. The stands behind the goals (north and south) are identical and have the same capacity, which is 2,902 seats. Tribuna I (main stand) has 2,798 seats and its constituent part is commercial space. Opposite it, the Tribuna II has 3,982 seats.

© Huc Cristian, Suporter Club UTA

Tribuna I has three levels. There are skyboxes built in and media space.There is a terrace on the second floor of the aforementioned tribune. The remaining tribunes have one tier. There is a small hotel with 13 rooms under the main stand. The facility has a car park with 300 spaces for cars and 20 for coaches.

In the works financed exclusively from the local budget, more than 12,300 cubic metres of concrete and 2,250 tons of reinforcement and steel structures were used. The stadium has 6,031 square metres of usable space, which after completion was given UEFA category IV.

Author: Tomasz Sobura