Huvepharma Arena

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Huvepharma Arena
Former names Dyanko Stefanov Stadium (1954–2011)
Ludogorets Arena (2011–2019)
Location Razgrad, Bulgaria
Owner Razgrad Municipality
Operator Ludogorets Razgrad
Capacity 10,423 (current)[1]
Surface Grass
Scoreboard 9 x 6 m digital
Construction
Built 1954[2]
Renovated 25 September 2011[3]
Expanded 2015, 2017, 2018
Architect Ardist OOD, RB Green OOD[4]
Tenants
Ludogorets Razgrad (2011–)
Ludogorets Razgrad II (2015–2017)
Dunav Ruse (2016–2017)
Bulgaria national football team (2018–)
Bulgaria national under-21 football team (2015–)
Website
www.ludogorets.com/bg/stadium/

Huvepharma Arena (Bulgarian: Хювефарма Арена) is a multi-purpose stadium in Razgrad, Bulgaria. It is used for football matches and is the home ground of the local football club Ludogorets Razgrad. The stadium has a seating capacity of 10,423 spectators.[5]

History

The stadium was officially opened on 25 September 2011, with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Bulgarian Football Union president Borislav Mihaylov present at the ceremony.[3]

Starting from August 2014, Ludogorets began a project to reconstruct the stadium and expand its capacity to 12,500, in order to accommodate European tournament matches.[citation needed]

The first stand to be reconstructed was officially unveiled on 15 May 2015, as Ludogorets clinched their fourth consecutive Bulgarian First League title in a 4–1 win against Lokomotiv Sofia.[6] The sector carries a capacity of 2,038[7] people and was named after Romanian defender Cosmin Moți in recognition of his performance during the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League play-off round second leg against Steaua București, when he replaced the sent-off goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov to save two penalty kicks and score one himself, qualifying his team to the group stage for the first time in the club's history.[8]

On 12 August 2017, the club inaugurated the newly modernized east stand before a league match against Vereya Stara Zagora.[9] The stand, which was built in just five months, added 3,500 seats to the stadium's capacity, bringing the total number up to 9,000 seats.[7] This allowed Ludogorets Arena to host Champions League and Europa League group stage matches for the first time ever, starting from the 2017–18 season onwards. Club officials later announced that they will build a copy of the 'Moți' stand on the north end next, before proceeding with construction of the main one.[7]

On 28 September 2017, the stadium hosted its first ever European competition group stage game, as Ludogorets defeated 1899 Hoffenheim 2–1 in a Group C Europa League fixture, with 6,155 fans in attendance.[10]

On 11 July 2018, Ludogorets officially opened the newly renovated north stand before their Champions League first-round game against Crusaders FC. The sector added a further 2,208 seats to the stadium's capacity, raising it to 10,442.[11]

On 18 December 2019, it was announced that the stadium's name had been changed to Huvepharma Arena.[12]

Other tenants

File:Ludogorets Arena at night 2022.png
Bird's-eye view of Huvepharma Arena during the 2021–22 Bulgarian Cup semi-final game versus Levski Sofia

Ludogorets Arena has hosted a number of other teams since its reopening in 2011. Between 2015 and 2017 it was home to Ludogorets' reserve team, Ludogorets Razgrad II, before they moved to the newly built 2,000-capacity Eagles' Nest located at the club's training centre, the Sport Center Ludogorets.[citation needed]

Following the promotion of Dunav Ruse to the First League in 2016, their Gradski Stadium had to be renovated to meet the licensing criteria of the Bulgarian Football Union. Starting from July 2016, Dunav played their home games at the Ludogorets Arena, until they returned to Ruse on 28 April 2017.[13][14]

National teams

On 8 September 2015, Ludogorets Arena hosted the Bulgaria national under-21 football team for the first time ever, as they defeated Luxembourg 3–0 in a Group 5 qualifier for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in front of a crowd of 2,200. As of March 2018 this remains the only under-21 game played in Razgrad.[15]

The stadium was host to the Bulgaria national football team for the first time on 23 March 2018, in a 1–0 friendly game loss against Bosnia and Herzegovina in front of 2,200 spectators.[16][17]

From June 2 to September 23, 2022, the stadium hosted all three home games in Bulgaria's campaign in 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C.

International matches

Bulgaria national football team

Senior teams only.

Date Result Opponent Competition Attendance
23 March 2018 0–1  Bosnia and Herzegovina Friendly 2,200
2 June 2022 1–1  Macedonia UEFA Nations League 8,275
5 June 2022 2–5  Georgia UEFA Nations League 3,600
23 September 2022 5–1  Gibraltar UEFA Nations League 1,540
24 March 2023 0–1  Montenegro UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 9,180
20 June 2023 1–1  Serbia UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 6,700

Attendance figures

As of 2 August 2022
Season League att. Games Average Change Cup att. Games European att. Games Total
attendance		 Total games Average Notes
2011–12 56,370 15 3,758 – 5,000 1 – – 61,370 16 3,836 First season in top division
2012–13 41,560 15 2,771 –26.3% 3,000 1 4,000 1 48,560 17 2,856 First season in European competitions
2013–14 58,800 19 3,095 +11.7% 8,190 4 10,890 2 77,880 25 3,115
2014–15 54,780 16 3,424 +10.6% 11,520 3 10,104 2 76,404 21 3,638
2015–16 49,390 17 2,905 –15.2% 0 0 5,120 1 54,510 18 3,028 Moti stand opens, capacity increased to 7,700
2016–17 36,980 18 2,054 –29.3% 630 1 13,759 2 51,369 21 2,446
2017–18 34,490 18 1,916 –6.7% 480 1 44,671 7 79,641 26 3,063 East stand opens, capacity increased to 9,000; first group stage European games
2018–19 40,430 18 2,246 +17.2% 7,100 2 33,748 7 82,013 27 3,038 North stand opens, capacity increased to 10,422
2019–20 27,180 15 1,812 –19.3% 0 0 56,114 8 83,294 23 3,621
2020–21 6,500 16 406 – 0 3 0 4 6,500 23 283 Only 2 home league games had any audience allowed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
2021–22 12,280 13 945 – 5,150 2 25,932 7 43,362 22 1,971 Partial COVID-19 restrictions in place for some games in the early-to-mid season.
2022–23 0 0 0 – 0 0 16,451 3 16,451 3 5,484
Total (2011–21) 406,480 152 2,674 – 35,920 16 178,406 34 584,886 217 2,695
Notes:

Gallery

  • Ludogorets arena in Razgrad (Bulgaria).png

    The 2,038-capacity 'Moți' stand was opened in May 2015.

  • Sport Center Ludogorets.jpg

    Ludogorets Razgrad II moved to the Eagles' Nest before the start of the 2017-18 Second League season.

References

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External links

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