Stadion Zbigniewa Podleckiego – stadium description

Most centrally located stadium in Gdansk was built on the site of former fortifications along the Opływ Motławy waterfront. Opening in 1925 means it was commissioned by Germans as part of the Free City of Danzig. Thus the initial name was Kampfbahn Niederstadt.  

Used for football and athletics, among other, it was equipped with wooden benches set atop sloped land with only one wooden grandstand. This changed in 1950s, when – under Polish government – new land embankments were created, presumably from Gdansk post-war rubble. With concrete terracing the stadium was then larger and more impressive, but most of its grandeur was created by the northern Marathon Gate and its monumental colonnade. Though now deformed by various updates, the gate still exists today.

The following decade saw the stadium’s transition to speedway-specific and this discipline remains its main use to date. No wonder the stadium was given patronage of Zbigniew Podlecki, Europe and World champion, who died in 2009. With step-by-step updates the stadium is changing in attempt to keep its standard up-to-date.