Qemal Stafa Stadium

Qemal Stafa Stadium

View of the Qemal Stafa
Location	Sheshi Italia 1, 1010 Tirana, Albania
Owner	Football Association of Albania
Operator	Football Association of Albania
Capacity	19,700
Construction
Broke ground	August 1939
Opened	7 October 1946
Closed	20 May 2016
Demolished	June 2016
Tenants
Albania Dinamo Tirana KF Partizani Tirana

The Qemal Stafa Stadium (Albanian: Stadiumi Qemal Stafa), named after Qemal Stafa a World War II hero, was a national stadium and the largest football stadium in Tirana, Albania. Construction started in 1939 and the stadium was inaugurated in 1946 for the Balkan Cup, which was won by the Albania national football team. The stadium has been used for football matches of the Albanian Superliga and the national team, athletic events, and the six Albanian Spartakiads. Although it was enlarged in 1974 to accommodate up to 35,000 spectators, in the 1990s it became an all-seater stadium, and its capacity was reduced to the current 19,700.

The stadium was demolished in June 2016 to make way to new national stadium. A new stadium called the National Arena (Albanian: Arena Kombetare) will constructed on the same site of the former Qemal Stafa Stadium and planned to open in 2018. The Football Association of Albania and the Albanian government will divide the property rights of the stadium between them; the football association will hold 75% rights and the government 25%.National Arena, with a capacity of over 22,500 spectators will be built at a cost of €60 million. The new stadium will be football-only; the athletics track will be removed and it is expected to meet the highest UEFA category.