STADIUMI KOMBËTARE Drenas, Kosovo Renderings: FFK Kosova, Tabanlıoğlu Architects
lans for a new 30,000 seat stadium in Kosovo have recently been drawn and revealed. The state has been using Pristina’s Stadium Fadil Vokrri since the 2018 renovations, but with the venue only having a capacity of 13,000, Kosovo’s FA needed a new home to accommodate the high ticket demands. The Stadiumi Kombëtare will not be built in Pristina, but well outside the city in remote Drenas. The plot selected for the project lies some 20km from the city centre and just under 10km from the international airport. Due to its location and good road connection, the place offers vast space, but also requires significant infrastructure on site in order not to depend on Pristina. For that very reason, the stadium will be accompanied by a youth training complex with a dormitory and two training fields - one of them with a running track. Both training grounds will lie west of the stadium, while, in the east, a vast leisure complex is expected. It will comprise a supermarket, retail outlets, swimming pool, hotel, football museum and the dormitory. The main stadium itself, designed by renowned Istanbul practice Tabanlioglu, will combine low cost with functionality and innovative architecture. The first characteristic is to be met thanks to a combination of monolithic superstructure cast on site with repetitive prefabs made of both concrete and steel. Raw concrete and steel combinations will be softened by technical fabric enveloping the stadium on the roof and facades. The structure will rise at the main pedestrian access gates, particularly in the north east. This is where most fans will arrive and an opening of the venue towards Pristina creates a welcoming entrance, especially combined with cascading stairs. All five openings will add dynamics to the
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stadium, particularly when lit at night. Similar to the other planned facilities, the stadium is expected to be very cost-effective. Its footprint is limited only to what is necessary, though not at any expense. Instead of potentially cheaper single tier seats, it offers a double ring of 18 rows in the lower tier and 19 in the upper. Fans are placed nearly one-metre above field level, while the nearest seat is just five-metres away from the field’s ancillary area. Around the entire outline of the auditorium an underground parking site is planned, aiding the eastern main parking area. The main stand will offer a total of four levels of facilities, while in other areas all volumes are limited to bare minimum. The declared budget for the project has not yet been confirmed, but initial price tag announced for the project is 50 million euros. According to declarations from June, construction might begin by the end of 2019. If this happens, the stadium should be completed in 2021.
