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Pancho Aréna

Coordinates: 47°27′50″N 18°35′12″E / 47.4640°N 18.5868°E / 47.4640; 18.5868
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Pancho Aréna
UEFA Elite Stadium
Map
LocationFelcsút, Hungary
OwnerFelcsúti Utánpótlás Neveléséért Alapítvány
OperatorPuskás Akadémia FC
Capacity3,865
Field size105x68m
SurfaceGrass
Field
Construction
Broke ground2012
Opened21 April 2014
Construction costHUF 3.8 billion
ArchitectImre Makovecz
Tamás Dobrosi
Structural engineerLászló Pongor
Tenants
Puskás Akadémia FC
Fehérvár FC (2016–2018)

Pancho Aréna is a stadium in Felcsút, Hungary. It is primarily used for football matches and serves as the home stadium for Puskás Akadémia FC. Between 2015 and 2018, the stadium also hosted the three-time champions Fehérvár FC due to the reconstruction of Sóstói Stadion.

History

[edit]

The stadium officially opened on 21 April 2014, featuring the final of the 2014 Puskás Cup.[1][2]

On 26 April 2014, the first Hungarian League match was played at the stadium between Puskás Akadémia and Videoton. The match ended with 3–1 away win.[3]

On 30 June 2016, the first UEFA Europa League match took place at the stadium when Videoton FC, now MOL Fehérvár FC, and FC Zaria Bălți met in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League. It occurred in Pancho Aréna due to the demolition of Videoton's home stadium, Sóstói Stadion.[4]

Pancho Aréna was listed among the top three most beautiful stadiums of the world according to stadiumdb.com: "The wood-lined curved interior to the stand gives spectators the feeling that they are attending a Sunday church service, not a football match. The 3,500 seater stadium opened in 2014 and was the brainchild of local architect Imre Makovecz".[5]

On 26 March 2018, the first international match was played at the stadium when Bulgaria hosted Kazakhstan in a friendly match. The match ended with a 2–1 win for Bulgaria.[6]

On 31 October 2023, it was announced that the Israel national football team would play their remaining UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Switzerland and Romania at the stadium, a decision influenced by the ongoing 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[7][8] On 15 November 2023, Israel hosted Switzerland and drew at the stadium.[9] On 18 November 2023, Israel hosted Romania in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match.[10] Romania beat Israel 2-1 and qualified for the UEFA Euro 2024.[11]

Controversy

[edit]

Many allegations of corruption have surfaced regarding the stadium,[citation needed] as Hungary's current prime minister, Viktor Orbán (known for his passion for football), spent much of his childhood in the village. Pancho Arena was built just meters away from his Felcsút estate.[12] Although the stadium was not constructed directly using government funds, companies that provided the majority of the funding won several high-value public procurement procedures during Orbán's prime ministership. Additionally, Orbán's government passed laws granting benefits to companies supporting sports investments. Allegations were fueled by the fact that the stadium seats 3,500 people, while the total population of the village is under 1,700.[citation needed]

Milestone matches

[edit]
26 April 2014 Puskás Akadémia Hungary 1–3 Hungary Videoton 2013–14 Nemzeti Bajnokság I
First Nemzeti Bajnokság I match
Tischler 63' (Report) Nikolić 20'
Zé Luís 74'
Filipe Oliveira 78'		 Attendance: 3,633
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
24 September 2015 Puskás Akadémia Hungary 0–2 Hungary Debrecen 2014–15 Magyar Kupa
(First Magyar Kupa match)
(Report) Szakály 53'
Kulcsár 94'		 Referee: Csaba Pintér (Hungary)
30 June 2016 Videoton Hungary 3–0 Moldova Zaria Bălți 2016–17 UEFA Europa League
(First UEFA Europa League match)
[(Report)] Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albanian)
17 July 2018 (2018-07-17) MOL Vidi Hungary 2–1 Luxembourg F91 Dudelange 2018–19 UEFA Champions League (first UEFA Champions League match)
20:15
Report
Attendance: 2,514[citation needed]
Referee: Donald Robertson (Scotland)

Milestone matches (youth squad)

[edit]
21 April 2014 Puskás Akadémia Hungary 0–1 Spain La Fábrica 2014 Puskás Cup Final
(First match)
(Report) Miguel Garcia 49' Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
4 November 2015 Puskás Akadémia Hungary 1–0 Scotland Celtic 2015–16 UEFA Youth League
(First international match)
Damásdi 20' (Report) Attendance: 1,230
Referee: Vadims Direktorenko (Latvia)

International

[edit]
24 March 2018 Bulgaria Bulgaria 2–1 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Friendly
Popov 23'
Bodurov 90+4'		 (Report) 55' Tungyshbayev Attendance: 100
Referee: Hungary Bognár
15 November 2023 Israel Israel 1–1 Switzerland Switzerland UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group I
Weissman 88' Report 36' Vargas Referee: England Taylor
18 November 2023 Israel Israel 1–2 Romania Romania UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group I
Referee: France Letexier

Attendances

[edit]
As of 21 December 2018

Puskás Akadémia only played three matches at the Pancho Aréna during the 2013–14 season.[13] This table includes only domestic league matches.

Season Puskás Akadémia FC Ref
Division GP Average Change Highest Gate Lowest Gate
2014–15 NB I 15 1,649 – 3,812 vs Ferencváros 704 vs Szombathelyi Haladás [14]
2015–16 NB I 16 1,699 +3.0% 3,798 vs Ferencváros 708 vs Paks [15]
2016–17 NB II 15 818 –49.5% 1,537 vs Balmazújváros 460 vs Budaörs [16]
2017–18 NB I 16 1,199 +46.6% 3,127 vs Ferencváros 200 vs Debrecen [17]
2018–19 NB I 17 1,340 +11.8% 3,865 vs Ferencváros 120 vs Kisvárda [18]
[edit]
  • Aerial view
    Aerial view
  • The main entrance
    The main entrance
  • The Pancho Aréna from the Főutca of Felcsút
    The Pancho Aréna from the Főutca of Felcsút
  • The interior
    The interior
  • The view of Pancho Aréna from the Vál-völgyi train
    The view of Pancho Aréna from the Vál-völgyi train
  • The roof of the Pancho Aréna
    The roof of the Pancho Aréna

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "PAFC: húsvéthétfőn avatják fel a Pancho Arénát". www.nso.hu. 3 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Videó: járja be Ön is a felcsúti Pancho Arénát!". www.nso.hu. 15 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Gólokkal avatta fel a PAFC új arénáját a Videoton az NB I-ben". www.nso.hu. 26 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Videoton FC: A Videoton city will be created with the new stadium". 12 December 2015.
  5. ^ "The top three most beautiful football stadiums in the world". Stadiumdb.com. 17 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Bulgaria vs Kazakhstan. International Match".
  7. ^ "A felcsúti Pancho Arénában játssza a hazai Eb-selejtezőit az izraeli fociválogatott". telex (in Hungarian). 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  8. ^ "Eb 2024: Felcsúton játszik az izraeli válogatott – hivatalos - NSO". www.nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  9. ^ "Eb 2024: Izrael drámai végjátékban ikszelt Svájccal Felcsúton - NSO". www.nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  10. ^ "Israel-Romania | European Qualifiers 2024". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  11. ^ "Eb 2024: Puscas-gól a Pancho Arénában – Románia és Svájc is kijutot". www.nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  12. ^ "Israel and Switzerland draw 1-1 in Euro 2024 qualifying game in Hungary". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  13. ^ "2013–14 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 1 July 2014.
  14. ^ "2014–15 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 24 May 2016.
  15. ^ "2015–16 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 24 May 2016.
  16. ^ "2016–17 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 28 March 2017.
  17. ^ "2017–18 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 28 March 2017.
  18. ^ "2018–19 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 20 December 2019.

47°27′50″N 18°35′12″E / 47.4640°N 18.5868°E / 47.4640; 18.5868


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