Though the stadium inaugurated in 2011 is not one of the large stadiums on the continent, with its 55.000 seats capacity, it is packed with features. It has a retractable roof, with the stands always covered. The cable system that supports the roof makes it unusable in daylight because of the shadows, but the cables also support a giant cube with four video screens. Concealed under the roof, there is a nocturne installation that allows for perfect visibility from every corner of the stadium.
UEFA selected National Arena to host the 2012 Europe League final.
The national flag of Romania, blue, yellow and red is found in the plastic seats of the stadium, but with an ingenious pattern that makes the stadium look occupied even when empty.
67.000 metric tons of concrete were used for its building, along with 7.200 tons of fittings and 700 tons of metal cables. Over 8.000 workers toiled to demolish the former stadium, called 23 of August (after a communist holiday) and to erect this state of the art arena.
Unlike its predecessor this arena does not have a athletics track, a thing about which the football players were complaining about. The players felt that the stands were too far away from the pitch because of the tracks, which diminished the help they would get from the home public. National Arena has tribunes very close to the field, without any hurdles. The security will be assured by a system of 29 mobile cameras, capable of zooming on a face at 100 m.
On this stadium, the Europa League Final, between Atletico de Madrid and Athletic Club Bilbao, was disputed in 2012. For this event, the fans of the two Spanish teams with similar uniforms completely covered the stadium in red and white.
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