Ortalyk Tsentralnyi Stadion – stadium description

Since the beginning of its history in 1958 the stadium has been Home to Qayrat football club, the only permanent tenant here. Over the years a number of other teams have also taken tenancy with the national team of Kazakhstan to start with. Almaty’s central stadium was in fact the national venue, though far from biggest since a larger venue in Shimkent opened its doors in 1960s.

As capital city of Kazakhstan has changed in 1998 it was certain that this won’t be national team’s home much longer. But thanks to numerous renovation works starting from 1997, Ortalyk retained its status as the best venue in the country. It wasn’t until the opening of Astana Arena in 2009 that the status of national stadium changed.

Qayrat remains as the longest standing tenant here, though the stadium is used for other events as well, to name just 2012 Bandy World Cup.