KGHM Zagłębie Arena – stadium description

Zagłębie Lubin’s new stadium was initially planned to stand inside the old GOS Stadium, reaching a visual effect similar to the Zentralstadion in Leipzig. Eventually it was decided to tear down all land embankments of the old stands, leaving only the northwestern infrastructure building of the old stadium, standing to this day.

Construction works began in early 2008 when some of the old stands were still standing. The concrete prefab sections of new stadium, designed by German Mierzwa Architekten, were raising rapidly and allowed for three first stands to be ready by the end of 2008. Only the main grandstand with sports and office infrastructure underneath took more time, being fully operable in mid-2010.

What’s very rare in Poland, the stadium is entirely private and belongs to the tenant club. It was built by KGHM, the club owners and Polish largest copper supplier and Zagłębie’s owner. Since KGHM is a public company, some argue that it was still public money used in the project.

Similar issues arose around the stadium’s name. It was the first in Poland to see a naming rights deal, one with telecommunications provider Dialog. However, as Dialog also belonged to KGHM at that time, it’s not regarded as a regular naming rights contract.