Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium ( hy, Վազգեն Սարգսյանի անվան Հանրապետական մարզադաշտ) also known as the Republican Stadium ( hy, Հանրապետական մարզադաշտ, translit=Hanrapetakan Marzadasht) is an

all-seater An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football a ...

multi-use

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

located on 65 Vardanants street, in the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

n capital

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

. The stadium was built between 1933 and 1935. It was officially opened in 1935 as ''Dinamo Stadium''. Further developments were implemented in 1953, after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It is mainly used for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and is the home ground of the

Armenia national football team The Armenia national football team ( hy, Հայաստանի ֆուտբոլի ազգային հավաքական, ''Hayastani futboli azgayin havak'akan'') represents Armenia in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation o ...

. The capacity of the stadium is 14,403 seats.

History

Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium (formerly Dynamo Stadium)

The stadium was opened in 1935 during the Soviet days as Dinamo Stadium. In 1999, after a major renovation, the name was changed to Republican Stadium (''Hanrapetakan'' Stadium). By the end of 1999, after the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of the former prime minister of Armenia

Vazgen Sargsyan Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan ( hy, Վազգեն Զավենի Սարգսյան, ; 5 March 1959 – 27 October 1999) was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was the first Defence Minister of Armenia from 1991 to 1992 and then from ...

, the name of the stadium was officially changed to Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium. It is currently used for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

matches and is the home ground of the

as well as the local teams Ararat Armenia and

Pyunik Football Club Pyunik Yerevan ( hy, Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ Փյունիկ Երևան, Futbolayin Akumb P’yunik Yerevan), commonly known as Pyunik ("Phoenix"), is an Armenian professional sports club based in the Kentron neighbourhoo ...

who both play in the

Armenian Premier League The Armenian Premier League ( hy, VBET Հայաստանի Պրեմիեր Լիգա, known as the VBET Armenian Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the top football competition in Armenia. From 1936 to 1991, the competition was held as a re ...

. A major renovation of the stadium was envisaged to take place in 1995, but the process was delayed due to financial difficulties. In 1999, a large-scale renovation process was launched and more than US$3 million were spent on the development of the infrastructure, the seats and many other facilities, with the financial assistance of the

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

Executive Committee. By the end of 2000, the stadium was completely renovated with a fully covered seating facilities. The Republican Stadium was named after

by a presidential decree on December 28, 1999. Vazgen Sargsyan was the commander of the Armenian forces during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...

and served as Defence Minister from 1995 to 1999 and Prime Minister from June to October 27, 1999, when he and other high-ranked officials were killed in the Armenian parliament shooting. Another major renovation was carried on in 2008 through the Israeli company Green Diversified Ltd. The playing pitch was entirely replaced with a modern surface, the VIP sections were repaired and a modern security system was installed in the stadium to meet the

standards.Israeli company to repair the Republican Stadium
/ref> By the end of August 2008, the stadium was ready to host matches on the new pitch. As a result of the installment of new VIP sections, the

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

was reduced from 14,968 to 14,403.

Attendance records

*11 October 2003, Euro 2004 qualifying

Group 6 Group 6 may refer to: *Group 6 element, chemical element classification *Group 6 (racing) Group 6 was the official designation applied by the FIA to two motor racing classifications, the Prototype-Sports Car category from 1966 to 1971 and the Two ...

0-4

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, att. 16,000. *22 August 2007, Euro 2008 qualifying

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...

1-1

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, att. 15,550. *13 June 2015, Euro 2016 qualifying

Group I Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

2-3

, att. 14,527. *7 October 2011,

Euro 2012 qualifying The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held ...

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...

4-1 Macedonia, att. 14,403. *12 October 2012, 2014 World Cup qualification

0-3

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, att. 14,403. *26 March 2011,

0-0

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, att. 14,400.

Gallery

File:Armenia vs Portugal, 13 June 2015, V. Sargsyan Rep. Stad. Yerevan (3).jpg, The western stand (red seats) File:Armenia vs Portugal, 13 June 2015, V. Sargsyan Rep. Stad. Yerevan (23).jpg, The southern stand File:Armenia vs Portugal, 13 June 2015, V. Sargsyan Rep. Stad. Yerevan (9).jpg, The eastern stand (orange seats) File:Republican Stadium, Yerevan.jpg, The northern stand (blue seats)

References

{{Yerevan landmarks Buildings and structures completed in 1935

Athletics (track and field) venues in Armenia Football venues in Armenia Armenia national football team FC Pyunik Ulisses FC Sports venues in Yerevan 1935 establishments in Armenia FC Ararat-Armenia