Steaua Stadium (), informally also known as Ghencea Stadium, was a football stadium in Bucharest, Romania, which served as the home of FC Steaua București. It was inaugurated on 9 April 1974 when Steaua played a friendly game against OFK Belgrade, 2–2.Steaua Gheorghe Tătaru was the first player to score in the stadium.

The stadium was entirely demolished in 2018, and was replaced with a new all-seater stadium opened in 2021.

History At the time it was one of the first football-only stadiums ever built in Romania, as there are no athletic (track and field) facilities, and the stands are very close to the pitch.

The original capacity was 30,000 on benches, but in 1991 when the plastic seats were installed, the capacity dropped to 28,365, along with 126 press seats, 440 seats in VIP boxes and 733 armchairs. The floodlighting system with a density of 1400 lux was inaugurated in 1991.

The stadium was renovated in 1996 and 2006 in order to host UEFA Champions League. It was renovated again in 2020 for €94.7 million in a project that brought its seating capacity to 31.254.

Romanian national football team The following national team matches were held in the stadium:

# Date Score Opponent Competition 1. 23 March 1977 4–0 Balkan Cup 2. 16 April 1977 1–0 Qualification for World Cup 1978 3. 27 April 1977 1–1 Friendly match 4. 21 September 1977 6–1 Friendly match 5. 13 November 1977 4–6 Qualification for World Cup 1978 6. 11 October 1978 1–0 Friendly match 7. 25 October 1978 3–2 Qualification for European Championship 1980 8. 21 March 1979 3–0 Friendly match 9. 24 August 1983 1–0 Friendly match10. 10 September 1986 4–0 Qualification for European Championship 198811. 25 March 1987 5–1 Qualification for European Championship 198812. 29 April 1987 3–1 Qualification for European Championship 198813. 7 October 1987 2–2 Friendly match14. 2 November 1988 3–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification15. 17 May 1989 1–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification16. 15 November 1989 3–1 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification17. 26 September 1990 2–1 Friendly match18. 17 October 1990 0–3 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying19. 5 December 1990 6–0 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying20. 16 October 1991 1–0 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying21. 13 November 1991 1–0 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying22. 8 April 1992 2–0 Friendly match23. 6 May 1992 7–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification24. 20 May 1992 5–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification25. 14 November 1992 1–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification26. 14 April 1993 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification27. 22 September 1993 1–0 Friendly match 28. 13 October 1993 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification29. 20 April 1994 2–0 Friendly match30. 25 May 1994 2–0 Friendly match31. 1 June 1994 0–0 Friendly match32. 7 September 1994 3–0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying33. 12 November 1994 3–2 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying34. 29 March 1995 2–1 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying35. 7 June 1995 2–1 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying36. 11 October 1995 1–3 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying37. 24 April 1996 5–0 Friendly match38. 1 June 1996 3–1 Friendly match39. 14 August 1996 2–0 Friendly match40. 31 August 1996 3–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification41. 29 March 1997 8–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification42. 30 April 1997 1–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification43. 20 August 1997 4–2 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification44. 10 September 1997 4–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification45. 18 March 1998 0–1 Friendly match46. 3 June 1998 3–2 Friendly match47. 2 September 1998 7–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying48. 28 April 1999 1–0 Friendly match49. 5 June 1999 2–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying50. 9 June 1999 4–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying51. 8 September 1999 1–1 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying52. 31 May 2000 2–1 Friendly match53. 3 September 2000 1–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification54. 15 November 2000 2–1 Friendly match55. 24 March 2001 0–2 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification56. 5 September 2001 2–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification57. 6 October 2001 1–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification58. 14 November 2001 1–1 2002 FIFA World Cup Play-off, 2nd Leg59. 12 October 2002 0–1 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying60. 16 November 2005 3–0 Friendly match61. 7 October 2006 3–1 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying62. 26 March 2008 3–0 Friendly match63. 31 May 2008 4–0 Friendly match64. 11 February 2009 1–2 Friendly match65. 9 September 2009 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Important matches Date Match Result Notes09-04-1974 Steaua–Belgrade2–2A friendly game, the first ever played on Ghencea Stadium.28-04-1974 Steaua–Brașov2–2First official match played on Ghencea Stadium.23-03-1977Romania–Turkey4–0A Balcanic Cup game. The first game played by Romania on Ghencea Stadium.03-10-1979 Steaua–Young Boys6–0Steaua's largest win in European Cups.16-04-1986 Steaua–Anderlecht3–0European Cup semifinal. Following this win, Steaua qualified for the European Cup final.06-04-1988 Steaua–Benfica0–0European Cup semifinal.07-12-1988 Steaua–Corvinul11–0Steaua's largest win in Liga I.15-03-1989Steaua–Göteborg5–1European Cup quarter-finals.05-04-1989 Steaua–Galatasaray4–0European Cup semifinal. An important win for Steaua which virtually opened the door to the European Cup final.15-11-1989Romania–Denmark3–1Following this win, Romania qualified to 1990 FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup Romania attended in twenty years.01-09-1991 Steaua–Brăila2–0A Divizia A game, in which occasion the floodlight installation was inaugurated.13-09-1995 Steaua–Rangers1–0First match won in UEFA Champions League new format.04-04-1998 Steaua–Dinamo5–0A Divizia A game, Steaua's second largest win against Dinamo.31-05-1998Greece U21–Spain U210–1A 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Final.25-02-2005 Steaua–Valencia2–0Steaua won 4–3 on penalty shootout, and thus Steaua qualified for the Round of 16 of the UEFA Cup. Many consider this game, the most important win of the past 15 years, marking the beginning of "a new era" for the Romanian side.07-04-2007 Steaua–Dinamo2–4A Divizia A game, in which occasion the new scoreboard was inaugurated.24-11-2009Urziceni–Sevilla1–0A UEFA Champions League game. First home victory for a Romanian team in the Champions League after 13 years.

Photo gallery

See also

List of football stadiums in Romania

References

External links Official website Stadium Guide images