Dan Păltinișanu Stadium (1963)
The Great Oval (Marele Oval) | |
 The stadium in 2009 | |
| Former names | 1 May (1963–1990) Politehnica (1990–1992) Silviu Bindea (1992–1995) |
|---|---|
| Address | 7 FC Ripensia Alley Timișoara Romania |
| Coordinates | 45°44′25.65″N 21°14′39.1″E / 45.7404583°N 21.244194°E |
| Public transit | Bus line E2 Trolleybus line 16 Tram line 9 |
| Owner | Timiș County Council |
| Capacity | 32,972 |
| Record attendance | 65,000 (Lepa Brena concert, 1984) |
| Field size | 105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | Yes |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 25 July 1960 |
| Built | 1960–1963 |
| Opened | 1 May 1963 |
| Renovated | 1985, 2002, 2008 |
| Closed | 25 February 2022 |
| Demolished | February 2025 |
| Tenants | |
| FC Politehnica Timișoara/SSU Politehnica Timișoara (1963–2012, 2014–2022) ACS Poli Timișoara (2012–2020) SCM Rugby Timișoara (2014–2022) | |
The Dan Păltinișanu Stadium (Romanian: Stadionul Dan Păltinișanu), named after footballer Dan Păltinișanu, was a multi-purpose stadium in Timișoara, Romania. Before getting demolished in 2025 it had a seating capacity of 32,972, the second-largest in Romania.[1] Operated until 2022, the stadium was used mostly for football matches by the local team, FC Politehnica Timișoara/SSU Politehnica Timișoara. It also hosted a few matches of the football national team. A new successor with 32,000 seats is being worked on to replace it on the site.[2]
History
The stadium was officially inaugurated on 1 May 1963,[3] then named 1 May. The construction of the stadium was done with the workers from the city's factories.[4] Its structure was similar to the one used to build most of the Romanian stadiums of that time, i.e. compacted earth. This constructive solution proved to be extremely problematic, as the compaction of the earth over time led to the deterioration of the stadium.[4] The original capacity was 40,000 on benches, but in 2005, when the plastic seats were installed, the capacity was reduced to 32,972.
The stadium was named after deceased footballer Dan Păltinișanu (1951–1995) who played 10 seasons at FC Politehnica Timișoara.[5]
The floodlighting system, with a density of 1,456 lx,[1] was inaugurated in 2003, at a match against Petrolul Ploiești.[6] Following two general renovations, in 2002 and 2008, the venue was able to host UEFA Champions League games. It was a four-star establishment with all the facilities required for the team, internet for the press room, 30 cameras for video surveillance, electrically heated pitch, an automated irrigation system and a modern scoreboard.
The stadium has long been in an advanced state of degradation,[7] and plans for demolishment to make way for a new venue with 32,000 seats were drawn up. It was finally closed on 25 February 2022, as it no longer met the quality standards.[8] The last event on the stadium was a Liga 2 match between Poli Timișoara and Petrolul Ploiești during which the floodlight dimmed twice by the 37th minute, and thus resulting in an automatic technical loss being sanctioned for the hosting city team.[9] It was then demolished in 2025.
Events
Association football
The Romania national football team played selected matches at the venue. The first game was played in March 1983 against Yugoslavia. Since then another six games were played, the last one in March 2010 against Israel.
| International football matches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Competition | Home | Away | Score | Attendance |
| 30 March 1983 | Friendly | .svg.png){kind=small} Romania
|
.svg.png){kind=small} Yugoslavia
|
0–2 | ~25,000 |
| 28 August 1985 | 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification |  Finland
|
2–0 | ~35,000 | |
| 23 April 1986 | Friendly |  Soviet Union
|
2–1 | ~25,000 | |
| 20 November 2002 | Friendly |  Romania
|
 Croatia
|
0–1 | ~38,000 |
| 6 June 2007 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |  Slovenia
|
2–0 | 27,850 | |
| 3 March 2010 | Friendly |  Israel
|
0–2 | ~18,000 | |
| International football clubs matches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Competition | Home | Away | Score | Attendance |
| 13 September 1978 | UEFA Cup | Politehnica Timișoara
|
 MTK Hungária
|
2–0 | ~25,000 |
| 1 November 1978 | UEFA Cup | Budapest Honvéd
|
2–0 | ~20,000 | |
| 1 October 1980 | European Cup Winners' Cup |  Celtic
|
1–0 | ~48,000 | |
| 5 November 1980 | European Cup Winners' Cup |  West Ham United
|
1–0 | ~45,000 | |
| 19 August 1981 | European Cup Winners' Cup |  Lokomotive Leipzig
|
2–0 | ~34,000 | |
| 19 September 1990 | UEFA Cup | Politehnica Timișoara
|
 Atlético Madrid
|
2–0 | ~48,000 |
| 7 November 1990 | UEFA Cup | .svg.png){kind=small} Sporting CP
|
2–0 | ~38,000 | |
| 16 September 1992 | UEFA Cup | Real Madrid
|
1–1 | ~50,000 | |
| 18 September 2008 | UEFA Cup |  Partizan
|
1–2 | 25,000 | |
| 5 August 2009 | UEFA Champions League |  Shakhtar Donetsk
|
0–0 | 32,000 | |
| 18 August 2009 | UEFA Champions League |  Stuttgart
|
0–2 | 33,446 | |
| 1 October 2009 | UEFA Europa League | Dinamo Zagreb
|
0–3 | 30,000 | |
| 22 October 2009 | UEFA Europa League | .svg.png){kind=small} Anderlecht
|
0–0 | 36,893 | |
| 2 December 2009 | UEFA Europa League |  Ajax
|
1–2 | 38,085 | |
| 5 August 2010 | UEFA Europa League | MYPA
|
3–3 | 18,000 | |
| 19 August 2010 | UEFA Europa League | Manchester City
|
0–1 | 34,695 | |
Concerts
| Date | Artist | Tour | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 August 1984 | Lepa Brena | Bato, Bato Tour | 65,000[10] |
| 17 July 2006 | Shakira | Oral Fixation Tour | 30,000 |
References
- ^ a b Matei, Alina (21 July 2015). "Stadionul Dan Păltinișanu". Merg.În.
- ^ "Timișoara va avea un nou stadion! Când va fi gata noua "bijuterie" din Banat în care se vor investi 120 de milioane de euro". sport.ro. 10 June 2021.
- ^ Silaghi, Vali (1 May 2010). "47 de ani de istorie pe stadionul "Dan Păltinișanu"". Adevărul.
- ^ a b Bloancă, Robert (1 May 2014). "Povestea celui mai mare stadion din Banat, care își serbează ziua pe 1 Mai". Adevarul.
- ^ "Dan Păltinişanu, un nume de legendă: bunicul fotbalist, tatăl baschetbalist. Ce va fi nepotul?" [Dan Paltinisanu, a legendary name: the footballer grandfather, the basketballer father. What will the nephew be?] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ "Istoria clubului Poli Timișoara". Ziare.com. 25 May 2008.
- ^ "Imaginile degradării pe un stadion din România » Cum a ajuns să arate una dintre arenele-simbol din fotbalul nostru". gsp.ro. 23 February 2021.
- ^ Dumitru, Silviu (25 February 2022). "Stadionul "Dan Păltinișanu" din Timișoara își închide porțile – Locația nu mai întrunește standardele de calitate". HotNews.ro.
- ^ Anghel, Marius (24 February 2022). "Timișoara în beznă! Nocturna de pe "Dan Păltinișanu" a picat de două ori și Petrolul va câștiga la "masa verde" meciul cu Poli Timișoara". Liga 2.
- ^ Both, Ștefan (16 September 2023). "Cântăreața iugoslavă care a înnebunit România în anii '80. Concertul ei de la Timișoara din 1984, de neuitat". Adevărul.