Pancho Aréna
Stadium in Felcsút, Hungary From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pancho Aréna is a stadium in Felcsút, Hungary. It is primarily used for football matches and serves as the home stadium for Puskás Akadémia FC. Between 2015 and 2018, the stadium also hosted the three-time champions Fehérvár FC due to the reconstruction of Sóstói Stadion.
 | |
 | |
| Location | Felcsút, Hungary |
|---|---|
| Owner | Felcsúti Utánpótlás Neveléséért Alapítvány |
| Operator | Puskás Akadémia FC |
| Capacity | 3,865 |
| Field size | 105x68m |
| Surface | Grass Field |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 2012 |
| Opened | 21 April 2014 |
| Construction cost | HUF 3.8 billion |
| Architect | Imre Makovecz Tamás Dobrosi |
| Structural engineer | László Pongor |
| Tenants | |
| Puskás Akadémia FC Fehérvár FC (2016–2018) | |
The stadium officially opened on 21 April 2014, featuring the final of the 2014 Puskás Cup.[1][2]
On 26 April 2014, the first Hungarian League match was played at the stadium between Puskás Akadémia and Videoton. The match ended with 3–1 away win.[3]
On 30 June 2016, the first UEFA Europa League match took place at the stadium when Videoton FC, now MOL Fehérvár FC, and FC Zaria Bălți met in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League. It occurred in Pancho Aréna due to the demolition of Videoton's home stadium, Sóstói Stadion.[4]
Pancho Aréna was listed among the top three most beautiful stadiums of the world according to stadiumdb.com: "The wood-lined curved interior to the stand gives spectators the feeling that they are attending a Sunday church service, not a football match. The 3,500 seater stadium opened in 2014 and was the brainchild of local architect Imre Makovecz".[5]
On 26 March 2018, the first international match was played at the stadium when Bulgaria hosted Kazakhstan in a friendly match. The match ended with a 2–1 win for Bulgaria.[6]
On 31 October 2023, it was announced that the Israel national football team would play their remaining UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Switzerland and Romania at the stadium, a decision influenced by the ongoing 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[7][8] On 15 November 2023, Israel hosted Switzerland and drew at the stadium.[9] On 18 November 2023, Israel hosted Romania in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match.[10] Romania beat Israel 2-1 and qualified for the UEFA Euro 2024.[11]
Many allegations of corruption have surfaced regarding the stadium,[citation needed] as Hungary's current prime minister, Viktor Orbán (known for his passion for football), spent much of his childhood in the village. Pancho Arena was built just meters away from his Felcsút estate.[12] Although the stadium was not constructed directly using government funds, companies that provided the majority of the funding won several high-value public procurement procedures during Orbán's prime ministership. Additionally, Orbán's government passed laws granting benefits to companies supporting sports investments. Allegations were fueled by the fact that the stadium seats 3,500 people, while the total population of the village is under 1,700.[citation needed]
| 26 April 2014 | Puskás Akadémia  | 1–3 | Videoton | 2013–14 Nemzeti Bajnokság I First Nemzeti Bajnokság I match |
Tischler  63' |
(Report) | Nikolić 20' Zé Luís 74' Filipe Oliveira 78' |
Attendance: 3,633 Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary) |
| 24 September 2015 | Puskás Akadémia | 0–2 | Debrecen | 2014–15 Magyar Kupa (First Magyar Kupa match) |
| (Report) | Szakály 53' Kulcsár 94' |
Referee: Csaba Pintér (Hungary) |
| 30 June 2016 | Videoton | 3–0 |  Zaria Bălți | 2016–17 UEFA Europa League (First UEFA Europa League match) |
| [(Report)] | Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albanian) |
| 17 July 2018 | MOL Vidi | 2–1 |  F91 Dudelange | 2018–19 UEFA Champions League (first UEFA Champions League match) |
| 20:15 | Report |
|
Attendance: 2,514[citation needed] Referee: Donald Robertson (Scotland) |
| 21 April 2014 | Puskás Akadémia | 0–1 |  La Fábrica | 2014 Puskás Cup Final (First match) |
| (Report) | Miguel Garcia 49' |
Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary) |
| 4 November 2015 | Puskás Akadémia | 1–0 |  Celtic | 2015–16 UEFA Youth League (First international match) |
| Damásdi 20' |
(Report) | Attendance: 1,230 Referee: Vadims Direktorenko (Latvia) |
| 24 March 2018 | Bulgaria  | 2–1 |  Kazakhstan | Friendly |
| Popov 23' Bodurov 90+4' |
(Report) | 55' Tungyshbayev |
Attendance: 100 Referee: Bognár |
| 15 November 2023 | Israel  | 1–1 |  Switzerland | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group I |
| Weissman 88' |
Report | 36' Vargas |
Referee:  Taylor |
| 18 November 2023 | Israel | 1–2 |  Romania | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group I |
Referee:  Letexier |
- As of 21 December 2018
Puskás Akadémia only played three matches at the Pancho Aréna during the 2013–14 season.[13] This table includes only domestic league matches.
| Season | Puskás Akadémia FC | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | GP | Average | Change | Highest Gate | Lowest Gate | ||||
| 2014–15 | NB I | 15 | 1,649 | – | 3,812 | vs Ferencváros | 704 | vs Szombathelyi Haladás | [14] |
| 2015–16 | NB I | 16 | 1,699 | +3.0% | 3,798 | vs Ferencváros | 708 | vs Paks | [15] |
| 2016–17 | NB II | 15 | 818 | –49.5% | 1,537 | vs Balmazújváros | 460 | vs Budaörs | [16] |
| 2017–18 | NB I | 16 | 1,199 | +46.6% | 3,127 | vs Ferencváros | 200 | vs Debrecen | [17] |
| 2018–19 | NB I | 17 | 1,340 | +11.8% | 3,865 | vs Ferencváros | 120 | vs Kisvárda | [18] |
Aerial view
The main entrance
The Pancho Aréna from the Főutca of Felcsút
The interior
The view of Pancho Aréna from the Vál-völgyi train
The roof of the Pancho Aréna
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