National Stadium (Warsaw)

The PGE Narodowy (official name since 2015) or National Stadium is a retractable roof football stadium located in Warsaw, Poland. It is used mostly for football matches and it is the home stadium of Poland national football team.

General information

Arena capacity: 58,145 spectators

Address: al. Zieleniecka 1, Warsaw, Poland

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 52°14′22″N 21°02′44″E

Year of construction: 2008–2011

Construction cost: 1.91 billion PLN (€ ≈0.43 billion)

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 105 x 68 m

Seating plan of PGE Narodowy

The structure is composed of two-level stands — top and bottom — with a capacity for 58,145 spectators. All seating in the National Stadium was provided by Polish company Forum Seating (part of the Nowy Styl Group located in Krosno). There are 900 seats for media and press, more than 4,600 so-called “premium seats”, designed for special guests, 106 seats for disabled people and more than 800 seats in the VIP lodges.

Under the stands, there are changing rooms, conference halls and living areas with a total area of 130 000 m². The building has eight stories with varied heights. The highest point at the stands, is located 41 meters above the former 10th-Anniversary Stadium pitch, while the highest point of the steel roof structure is 70 meters above that level. The roof can cover not only the stands, but also the pitch.

When choosing a place in the stadium, use the PGE Narodowy scheme above.

Where to buy tickets?

Tickets are sold by the event organizer and not the national stadium itself, and thus the official website doesn’t have any booking facilities to purchase tickets online. You can use it however to see a list of forthcoming events, and to find out where you may be able to purchases tickets.

To acquire tickets for International matches as an away fan you should consult your local football association. They are usually allocated a certain amount of tickets per match depending on how large the travelling contingent is expected to be.

Football fans may wish to note that the only domestic match the stadium routinely hosts each season is the Polish SuperCup.

How to get there?

Warsaw National Stadium is located on the east bank of the Vistula river, not far from Warsaw’s city centre. It lies approximately 4 kilometres east of Warsaw’s central railway stadium and the Palace of Culture and Science, and 3 kilometres from Warsaw’s old town.

There are various ways to reach the stadium by public transport. The easiest is to use the metro. The closest station to the stadium is Stadion Narodowy Metro Station which is located on line 2. It first opened on 8th March 2015 and is one of the sleekest ways to get to the stadium. It is located 2 minutes further north of the Warszawa Stadion station, and still leaves a walking distance of less than 10 minutes.

Alternatively there are various tram and bus connections. Most trams and buses that run in eastern direction from Warsaw’s central station and nearby metro stop Centrum pass the stadium. Tram 7, 9, 22, 24 and 25, and bus 158, 507 and 517 are some of the options. The ride takes less than 15 minutes, get off at stop Rondo Waszyngtona.

The national stadium is served by its very own station known as Warszawa Stadion which is located 650m north of the stadium. Accessible via both the S1 and S2 lines, the journey from central Warsaw takes approximately five minutes, and then five minutes more by foot once you have arrived.

During rush hour and matchdays, trains reportedly depart every 4 minutes which means around 26,000 people can reach the stadium every hour which sounds efficient enough considering the official capacity of 58,826.

From Warsaw’s old city centre (down by the river) take bus 226 and get off at stop Kijowska or Zieleniecka (a 7-minute ride). From there it’s a 10-minute walk to the stadium.

Parking

There appears to be an underground car park available to use on match days for a small fee which can be accessed via entrance point 6. This parking page on the website shows you the location of the official car parks.

Where to eat?

The area around the stadium is mainly residential and offers little in terms of entertainment. The city centre is not far away though, right across the bridge on the other side of the Vistula river.

In particular, Nowy Świat street is full of bars and restaurants and arguable counts as Warsaw’s principal nightlife area. From the southern end of the street it is a mere 20-minute walk to the stadium.

There is a more alternative nightlife scene in the Praga area a 20-minute walk north of the stadium. The area used to have a negative reputation in terms of safety, though has significantly regenerated.

There are a few rental apartments and basic hotels near Warsaw National Stadium, for example Hotel Noclegi and Hotel Dedek Park, but the area is nicer and more fun across the river.

Boutique B&B, Royal Route Residence, and Mamaison Residence Diana are almost right on Nowy Świat and get very good reviews. Expect to pay about PLN 300.00 per night. Moon Hostel, Puffa Hostel, the Mercure Warszawa, and the Novotel Warszawa offer cheaper options ranging from PLN 100.00 to PLN 250.00 per night.

Facilities included within Stadion Narodowy

The stadium has a heated pitch and a training pitch. A two-level underground parking for 1,800 cars is located just below the pitch and can be accessed by tunnels. There is a multifaith chapel, fan club, a pub and restaurants in the premises.

The high proportion floor space allows the hosting of events other than sports. In addition, the stadium has 20,000 square metres of office and conference space.

Design of Poland’s largest stadium

The National Stadium in Warsaw is oval shaped and resembles a wicker basket. It measures 310m x 280m in size and has a volume of one million cubic metres. The heated pitch has a retractable glass roof over it and parking spaces below.

The glass roof over the pitch measures 4,000 square metres. The locker room, team rooms, conference rooms and other open spaces that can be utilised for a variety of purposes are placed just below the stands. This area measures 130,000 square metres.

The most striking feature of the stadium is its retractable roof, which looks like a folded sail and opens from a nest-like structure constructed just above the centre of the pitch.

Impressive façade of Warsaw’s Stadion Narodowy

The façade resembles a waving flag of Poland painted in red and bright silver. This colour scheme is also used to paint the stadium seats. The façade comprises of a painted wire mesh made of anodised expanding metal sheet imported from Spain.

The wire mesh covers the inner aluminium, concrete and glass structures. It envelopes the thermal units and stairs.

The façade may look transparent or opaque according to the light falling on it. It is lit up in the dark and reflects excellent composition.

The use of wire mesh makes the façade’s design environmentally sustainable by allowing sunlight and natural ventilation in to the stadium, which helps in maintaining an optimum temperature inside.

History

The National Stadium was originally planned to be completed on 30 June 2011. The stadium was scheduled to be opened to the public on July 22, 2011, while its official opening was scheduled to take place on August 27. Due to ongoing construction the event was moved to January 2012 and only an inaugural illumination of the facade of the stadium took place in August. A match against the Germany national football team had been scheduled on 6 September 2011 but this was relocated to Gdańsk, because the National Stadium wasn’t ready yet.

Construction work was officially completed on 29 November 2011. One day later, Rafał Kapler — The NCS President submitted to the site manager an application needed to get a certificate of occupancy. The official opening ceremony of the stadium took place on 29 January 2012. The event was celebrated by concerts by Polish celebrities: Voo Voo and Haydamaky, Zakopower, Coma, T. Love, Lady Pank and ended with an evening fireworks show. On 10 February 2012, installation of heating and irrigation systems and the pitch installation was completed.