Stadion Wierchy – stadium description

The municipal stadium Wierchy (Peaks) functions almost continuously since 1928 as the sports heart of Sanok. It also served as one of the main agoras for social, cultural, military and political events in the city's 20th-century history, including festivities of almost 20,000 participants or things as grim as public execution early after WWII.

For a stadium with very rich history it may seem strange that the very first wooden grandstand was erected only in 1936. Constrained within just over 2 hectares and sitting beside route 28, the stadium gained its current layout in 1956, when the main grandstand was built along the south side. Rotation of the field and running track where never the option with scarce space in Sanok, even though several attempts to thoroughly revamp the stadium took place.

The most recent and extensive redevelopment came in two phases between 2016 and 2019, which saw almost everything replaced, aside from the main stand, which was just renovated. Brand new 6-lane running track, floodlight masts or miniature tubulat stands in the north (to almost reach the demanded 1,000 capacity) were all added in that period.

As for the main sports tenant, Wierchy had far few of those. Fittingly for a stadium initiated by local soldiers, the first team was Strzelec (Shooter) and its rival Sanoczanka in 1928. They were later replaced by teams of the socialist era: Unia, Górnik and Stal. None of those sides exists today but Stal's successor Ekoball Stal is the key tenant. Stal is also the team to celebrate biggest victories as the stadium, like the sensational defeat of Legia Warszawa in 2006 during Polish Cup round of 32 or a massive game of the same stage against Ruch Chorzów, watched by 6,000 people in 1973.