Stepanakert Republican Stadium

Stepanakert Republican Stadium

Former names	Joseph Stalin Stadium Stepan Shahumyan Central Stadium
Location	Stepanakert Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (de facto)  Azerbaijan (de jure)
Coordinates	39°49′16″N 46°45′11″E / 39.82111°N 46.75306°E / 39.82111; 46.75306Coordinates: 39°49′16″N 46°45′11″E / 39.82111°N 46.75306°E / 39.82111; 46.75306
Owner	Government of Nagorno-Karabakh
Operator	Artsakh Football Federation
Capacity	12,000 [1]
Field size	110x70 meters
Surface	artificial turf
Construction
Built	1955-1956
Opened	1956
Renovated	2004-2005[2] 2015[3]
Tenants
Nagorno-Karabakh national football team Lernayin Artsakh FC

Stepanakert Republican Stadium (Armenian: Ստեփանակերտի Հանրապետական մարզադաշտ), is an all-seater multi-use stadium in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It is mostly used for football matches and is the home stadium of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh national football team and Lernayin Artsakh FC of Stepanakert. The stadium was built between 1955 and 1956. It was officially opened in 1956 as Joseph Stalin Stadium. Later, the name was changed to Stepan Shahumyan Central Stadium.

The stadium was entirely renovated in 2004-05 and renamed Stepanakert Republican Stadium. During the renovation, the venue was turned into an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 12,000 spectators.

With the most recent renovation in 2015, the natural grass was replaced with an artificial turf.^[4]

Home stadium

Since the mid-1990s, football teams from Karabakh started taking part in some domestic competitions in the Republic of Armenia. Lernayin Artsakh is the football club that represents the city of Stepanakert. The Artsakh football league was launched in 2009.

The Artsakh national football team was formed in 2012 and played their first competitive match against the Abkhazia national football team in Sokhumi, a match that ended with a result of 1-1 draw.^[5][6] The return match between the unrecognized teams took place at the Stepan Shahumyan Republican Stadium, on 21 October 2012, when the team of Nagorno-Karabakh defeated the Abkhazian team with a result of 3-0.

References