When the stadium in Kielce opened, and this was in 2006, the boom in new soccer arenas in the country began. It was an event that left its mark on the dreams of many fans. The stadium aroused admiration, because it was built at a time when we had barely entered the European Union, something was beginning to move there in public investment, but you could still feel in many cities the breath of communist Poland and widespread mediocrity. This investment was also awe-inspiring because it was built in Kielce. Not in Warsaw, not in Gdansk, not in Cracow. It was in Kielce. Since then, in most major cities, new arenas have arrived. Better and worse. Copied and built from scratch. Several more will open in 2025.
Night illumination on the side of the main parking lot
Opole Stadium / Municipal Facility in Opole
From Kielce to Opole
The stadium in the capital of the Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship was new. It was built from scratch. It was created fully at once, not in installments. Two-story grandstands, VIP boxes, roofing and lighting. There was a WOW effect. But there was no comparison. It absolutely lacked elevation. There is an unflattering expression "cold as in Kielce". And indeed it is cold in this stadium, because the wind blows through it. It was new and modern, because who else had a computerized entrance control system for a good few years? It was only a few years later that the avalanche of stadiums began. Krakow, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Poznan, Bialystok, Lublin, Chorzow, Lodz, Szczecin and many others. They were bigger, more complex, had facades, and the biggest architectural firms were behind their designs. These stadiums serve a variety of functions, not just sports. They host musicians, big outdoor events and whatever the heart desires. There are still a few provincial cities suffering from the lack of a modern facility, but with the end of 2024, Opole will join the ranks of the lucky owners of a new arena.
The stadium from a bird's eye view
PK lens - photo and video
contact glass
Opole Stadium is one of two stadiums in provincial cities that will open this March. Another will open in Katowice, a week after the Opole stadium opens. The former capital of Upper Silesia had ambitions to have a modern facility. In 2018, a competition resulted in the selection of a stadium design by a Warsaw-Silesian consortium of 90 Architects and GMT. In 2021, the first shovel was driven in, and construction was completed last December. The cost of building the stadium was 185 million zlotys. The arena is able to accommodate 11,600 spectators, in 18 rows. The stands are fully covered, elevated less than 2 meters above the turf for better visibility, and the lighting is adjusted for HD broadcasts. It is the first fully green stadium in Poland. The facility will get its electricity from a 280 kW photovoltaic installation, which has been located on the southern, western and eastern parts of the roof. Heat pumps will be responsible for heating the stadium premises. Ecology goes beyond the facility itself, as insect and small animal houses have been placed in the green areas adjacent to the stadium.
Long grandstand
Opole Stadium / Municipal Facility in Opole
modest and sensible
The Opole arena was built just off Technologiczna Street, surrounded by large logistics and industrial halls. The stadium in such a place could have different forms, because it is not inconvenient for residents. Meanwhile, with its architecture it fits very subtly into the place where it was built. During the day it does not particularly stand out against the background of neighboring buildings. The facade of the stadium is based on four corners, which are connected by a steel arch that curves outward. The entire structure is shrouded in a white, light-transparent membrane, which lends lightness to the mass. The structure gives the impression of floating in the wind, while at the same time being open and inviting inside. The white material also serves as a backdrop for nighttime illumination. The stadium is strikingly illuminated and it is the light that awakens it against the background of its surroundings. And that was also the goal of the design by the 90 Architects and GTM consortium. When the project was selected, the rationale was as follows:
"First prize awarded for exceptional form. A sign of space related to place. Correct urban planning that organizes the surroundings. Rational design. Proper external and internal communication, resulting in a consistent, unambiguous form. The possibility of effective illumination and energy-saving solutions were appreciated."
And indeed they are. The construction of the stadium also determined the creation of new pedestrian and bicycle paths, the creation of bays for public transport buses and a large parking lot.
Sunset over the stadium
PK lens - photo and video
quo vadis
One might think that Opole Stadium is structurally trivial. One of many. One could also see its rationality and ability to fit into its surroundings. Views are many, but it cannot be denied that it is an architecture that has made itself within the possibilities of a given place in time. Opole is the capital of a province that is currently experiencing a demographic disaster. The Opole region is disconnected from its historical dependencies with the rest of Upper Silesia and is losing young people at an alarming rate. To prevent this, systemic solutions are needed, but also symbols that allow young people to identify with them. Opole Stadium is such a place for autochthons. It is no different from other national, but also European facilities. As mentioned above, several Polish cities and several clubs are still waiting for their arenas. The question that needs to be answered is, what can these facilities be? Can we do things differently, use different materials and surprise with form? Everything is locked in imagination and possibilities.
The object in Opole tells us that possibilities can be written into a place in a way that does not disturb the surroundings. At the same time, it gives it expression as it comes to life. And this rationality is the best thing that could happen in Opole. In Poland, we can't (for the time being) count on stadiums on the scale of Zaha Hadid 's or Kengo Kuma's projects to appear, because we have exhausted the space for large scale. But Pancho Arena by Tamás Dobrosi, which was built in Felcsút, 40 kilometers from Budapest, says that even in a small village you can play with form, material and context. The closest we've come to selecting a design for a stadium in Rybnik, announced by the Katowice branch of SARP. Already at the beginning of April, the next face of the sports arena in Polish space will appear before us. It remains to wait for the results.
