Six years of development and it's finally here! The newly opened Košice Futbalova Aréna have a capacity of more than 12,000 fans and will be one of the candidates to host home matches of the Slovak national team. The inauguration took place at the end of April 2024, but it was not the first match played in this stadium.

A celebration of Slovak football

The inaugural match at the expanded Košice Futbalovská Aréna was played on April 27, 2024, where the team from Košice and FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce met in the relegation group (0:2). The newly built stands were crowded by parents with children, who were keen to take advantage of the Slovakian project "Dad, Mum, take me to football". The venue was 75% full, but this match was only meant to be a pre-taste and rehearsal before the real Slovak fan fest, which is scheduled for May 1.

In the match of the Slovak cup final, the second and fifth teams of the Nike league FK Spartak Trnava and MHK Ružomberok met. The result of this match was 0:1 and the cup went to the team from the central part of the country, who prevented the team from Trnava from triumphing for the 3rd consecutive time in this competition. The stadium was filled not much more than during the match between the last two Nike league teams. The attendance from that match was 8,764 fans.

"This is the culmination of several years of efforts by the city of Košice to put itself back on the football map not only in Slovakia, but also in Europe. We are delighted that we were successful and were able to convince representatives of the Slovak Football Association and UEFA already during the operation that the stadium meets the strictest requirements," - Marcel Gibóda, CEO of the Košice Football Arena, told ŠPORT.sk. Despite rising prices and the development of inflation in recent years, CEO Gibóda boasts that they have managed to create "the cheapest UEFA Category IV stadium per seat".

© FC Spartak Trnava

History of the rebuilding - 1st phase

In 2018, construction of the new football stadium in Košice began. The facility was being built at the initiative of the city, with the help of funding from the central budget. The stadium was to become the main football arena in the city, capable of hosting matches and events at the highest level. The investment was planned in the southern part of the city.

Due to budgeting problems, the construction was divided into phases. In the first part, the side stands of the facility are planned and in the second part, depending on the flow of money, the stands behind the goals. The first phase, including preparatory work, amounted to more than €16 million.

The Ministry of Finance provided an interest-free loan of €8 million and the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic provided a grant of €4 million for the construction. Stand A and C, the main operations building, the turf was laid and both internal and external facilities were implemented, including changing rooms and a 328-seat parking area. At the same time, the foundations were prepared for the installation of additional stands (B and D) behind the goals.

The first phase was completed late, and the first match - a friendly between FC Košice and FK Slavoj Trebišov (2:0) - took place in the new stadium on 22 February 2022. The venue had 5,836 seats and was qualified as meeting UEFA Category III conditions. It was hosted by FC Košice, who were promoted to Fortuna Liga in 2023. In a Slovakian arena in the 2022/23 season, Ukrainian team Dnipro-1 played their matches in the Europa Conference League.

© FC Spartak Trnava

History of the rebuilding - 2nd phase

The completion of the second phase was to have been carried out under the existing contract for the entire stadium and was expected to cost €4.6 million. However, due to rising prices, the contractor demanded an additional €1.14 million. The city decided to launch a new tender, which took place in the summer of 2022. The tender was awarded in January 2023 and the winner was the company that had worked during the first part of the work, AVA-stav, with a bid of €5.86 million, so the price eventually increased by €1.26 million.

The second phase also focused on equally important elements of the redevelopment of the facility. With the help of Deltech, LED screens, a camera system for fire equipment, security alarms and telecommunications equipment were installed, which amounted to €900,000. Sedasport supplied and installed seating at a cost of around €300,000.

© FC Spartak Trnava

Construction of the missing stands behind the goals (including the corners) started on April 17, 2023, with the end of the work in spring 2024. During construction, matches continued to be played at the stadium. There are still plans for a football academy to be built around the facility, which would include four full-size training pitches.

Košicka Futbalova Aréna is fully completed and successfully opened for use. Thus, Slovakia has another stadium of the IV category of the European Football Union UEFA , which will be able to host matches of the Slovak A team. This should happen for the first time in the autumn of 2024 in the UEFA Nations League. In the summer of 2025, the KFA will be one of eight arenas to host the U-21 EURO.

Spendings at Košicka Futbalova Aréna