Elbasan Arena first opened in 1967 under the name of Ruzhdi
Bizhuta Stadion who was one of KF Elbasani’s most famous players. Constructed
in the 1960s, the ground was built to replace the club’s former ground which
had slowly become a set of outdated facilities.
For the majority of Ruzhdi Bizhuta’s history, the stadium
has been used exclusively by KF Elbasani but in January 2014 it was announced
that the ground would host Albania’s qualification matches of Euro 2016. This
decision was taken by the Albanian Football Federation in order to allow the
usual national stadium Qemal Stafa to undergo extensive renovation work.
Before Elbasan Arena could host the matches however it would
have to undergo refurbishment itself, and in total over €5.5 million invested
into the stadium. Work to bring up the stadium to UEFA’s required standards
began in February 2014, and finished 7 months later in October.
Numerous improvements were made to the stadium including the
installation of new floodlights, 12,500 new plastic seats, new changing rooms,
executive seating areas, new scoreboards, and to top it all of a brand new playing
surface was laid.
The stadium then reopened on 8 October when Albania hosted
Denmark in their second qualification match of the campaign. Played out in
front of a sell-out crowd of 12,800 – the record attendance to date, Albania
earned a 1-1 draw against their more favoured opposition.
The opening ceremony of the stadium was held on 11 October
2014, with a historical exhibition match against Denmark. Playing for the first
time at the recently refurbished Elbasan Arena, the hosts grabbed a 38th-minute
lead through Ermir Lenjani's deflected strike but Denmark substitute Lasse Vibe
slotted home an 81st-minute equaliser as the Group I rivals went joint-top.
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