Pancho Aréna

Pancho Aréna is a stadium in Felcsút, Hungary. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Puskás Akadémia FC. Between 2015 and 2018 the stadium was the home also for the three-time champions MOL Vidi FC due to the reconstruction of Sóstói Stadion.

Pancho Aréna
LocationFelcsút, Hungary
OwnerFelcsúti Utánpótlás Neveléséért Alapítvány
OperatorPuskás Akadémia FC
Capacity3,816
Field size105x68m
SurfaceGrass
Field
Construction
Broke ground2012
Opened21 April 2014
Construction costHUF 3,8 billion
ArchitectImre Makovecz
Tamás Dobrosi
Tenants
Puskás Akadémia FC
MOL Vidi FC (2016-2018)

History

The stadium was opened on 21 April 2014 with 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 will be played between Videoton FC and FC Zaria Bălți at the stadium. Since Videoton's stadium, Sóstói Stadion, was demolished in the spring of 2016, the Székesfehérvár-based club will play their matches at the Pancho Aréna.

The 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".[4]

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.[5]

Controversy

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

Milestone matches
26 April 2014 Puskás Akadémia 1–3 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 0–2 Debrecen 2014–15 Magyar Kupa
(First Magyar Kupa match)
(Report) Szakály  53'
Kulcsár  94'		 Referee: Csaba Pintér (Hungary)
30 June 2016 Videoton 3–0 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 2–1 F91 Dudelange 2018–19 UEFA Champions League (first UEFA Champions League match)
20:15
Report
Attendance: 2,514
Referee: Donald Robertson (Scotland)

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

International
24 March 2018 Bulgaria 2–1 Kazakhstan Friendly
Popov  23'
Bodurov  90+4'		 (Report)  55' Tungyshbayev Attendance: 100
Referee: Bognár (Hungary)

Attendances
As of 21 December 2018

Puskás Akadémia only played three matches at the Pancho Aréna during the 2013–14 season.[6] This table includes only domestic league matches.

Season Puskás Akadémia FC Ref
Division GP Average Change Highest Gate Lowest Gate
2014–15NB I151,649–3,812vs Ferencváros704vs Szombathelyi Haladás[7]
2015–16NB I161,699+3.0%3,798vs Ferencváros708vs Paks[8]
2016–17NB II15818–49.5%1,537vs Balmazújváros460vs Budaörs[9]
2017–18NB I161,199+46.6%3,127vs Ferencváros200vs Debrecen[10]
2018–19NB I171,340+11.8%3,865vs Ferencváros120vs Kisvárda[11]
  • Aerial view
  • The main entrance
  • The Pancho Aréna from the Főutca of Felcsút
  • The interior
  • The view of Pancho Aréna from the Vál-völgyi train
  • The roof of the Pancho Aréna

References
  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. "The top three most beautiful football stadiums in the world". Stadiumdb.com. 17 October 2017.
  5. "Bulgaria 2-1 Kazkhstan - Friendly match". Soccerway.com. 26 March 2018.
  6. "2013–14 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 1 July 2014.
  7. "2014–15 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 24 May 2016.
  8. "2015–16 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 24 May 2016.
  9. "2016–17 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 28 March 2017.
  10. "2017–18 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 28 March 2017.
  11. "2018–19 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 20 December 2019.


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