It is intimate, but perfectly tailored to the current needs of Honvéd. Its hallmark is the facade, the implementation of which was an extremely complex undertaking. Today we are catching up with last year and taking you to the capital of Hungary.

Cost is much higher than planned

Honvéd's new stadium was built on the site of its predecessor that existed until 2019. It is slightly shifted to the north-east of the old ground. Bozsik Aréna is located in the 19th district (Kispest) of Budapest.

For the first time, the need to build a modern stadium was raised around 2010. Four years later, the planning process began, culminating in the development of the design of the new facility. Originally, construction was to start in 2015 and be completed in 2016. However, practically nothing happened from the presentation of the concept until 2019.

© groundhop1992 (Instagram)

It was not until mid-February 2019 that the demolition of the former Bozsik József Stadion began. Construction started with the cornerstone laying ceremony that took place on March 21, 2019. Works lasted almost 2 years and the new ground was ready in the spring of 2021. On March 14, a test match of the third division teams was played.

Official inauguration with the presence of supporters was held on July 24, 2021 during Honvéd's game against Villarreal CF reserves. Earlier, in the spring of the same year, 4 matches of the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship were organised at Bozsik Aréna, but behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Initially, the facility was to cost HUF 5 billion, but over the years the costs have more than doubled, which required the mobilisation of additional funds from the state budget. According to current knowledge, the final bill for the construction of the stadium amounted to HUF 17.1 billion (€ 48.3 million).

© negro_vivanco (Instagram)

Colourful envelopes decorate Bozsik Aréna

The architecture of the ground is dominated by the main (west) stand, which is clearly higher than the other three. It has three levels of back-up facilities and roof separated from the rest of the stadium's canopy. Main stand is connected with other tribunes by an external facade.

The rest of the auditorium consists of three single-tier stands, forming the letter "U". The entire structure was created on a rectangular plan with rounded corners. The lighting is composed of sixteen LED floodlights placed on the rooftop.


© groundhop1992 (Instagram)

The most distinctive element of the arena is the facade, made of expanded aluminum plates, reminiscent of open envelopes. Red, black and white plates clearly refer to Honved's colours. Building's elevation is curved in all directions when viewed from the outside.

Up close we can see arches on the facade in the longitudinal and transverse directions. The whole thing rises and falls, so that the bottom of stands is partially exposed, as well as reinforced concrete pillars of the structure.

There are 14 sky boxes at the stadium with 140 seats. They are located on the first floor of the main stand. In front of them, 408 VIP class seats were installed. There are 114 places for the press and 96 for disabled fans. The car park can accommodate 438 vehicles.

The gross area of the stadium is 14,136 square metres and its height - 14.6 metres. 1150 prefabricated reinforced concrete elements, 750 tons of steel and 8,000 cubic metres of concrete were used for erecting Bozsik Aréna. In front of the venue there is a golden lion statue (club symbol), which consists of 5-6 thousand stainless steel components and weighs approximately 6 tons.

Author: Tomasz Sobura

© groundhop1992 (Instagram)