Giuleşti Stadium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giuleşti

Location	Bucharest, Romania
Built	1936
Opened	1939
Owner	Ministry of transport
Operator	Rapid Bucureşti
Surface	Grass
Tenants	Rapid Bucureşti
Capacity	19,100

Giuleşti Stadium (Romanian: Stadionul Giuleşti) is a football stadium in Bucharest, Romania; it is the home stadium of Rapid Bucureşti.

Construction started in the year 1936 and the stadium was inaugurated on 10 June 1939. At the time, it was the most modern stadium in Romania, a smaller replica of Arsenal's Highbury Stadium with a capacity of 12,160 seats. Among the guests at the opening ceremony King Carol II of Romania, Prince Mihai of Romania and Prince Paul of Greece.

Construction of the north stand was completed in the mid-1990s, the capacity being increased to 19,100 seats. The ground was changed in 2003, being considered one of the best in Romania. Since the summer of 2004 the stadium is administered by Rapid Bucureşti.

It is still commonly known as the "Giuleşti Stadium", after the name of the neighborhood in which it is located. Landmarks near the stadium include Podul Grant, Giuleşti Theatre, Gara de Nord and the Griviţa Railway Yards.

In May 2008, Rapid Bucharest officially announced plans to demolish the current stadium, and replace it with a brand new state-of-the-art multi-purpose stadium. The new arena will hold 30.000 fans and will offer all facilities of a world class stadium. If no delays occur, construction is scheduled to begin in Autumn 2008, and the first match of the new stadium will be played in 2010. Meanwhile, for the next two seasons, Rapid Bucharest will most likely play its home games on Cotroceni Stadium.