Construction of the "Ukraine" stadium in Lviv

On August 18, 2023, the "Ukraine" stadium in Lviv will celebrate 60 years since its opening.

It was on this day in 1963 that it was put into operation. Then the first match took place. "Karpaty" played against "Zhalgiris" from Vilnius. . In the first decades of operation, "Druzhba" (that's what the stadium was called) had 41,700 seats. The largest number of spectators was recorded at a friendly match with Brazilian Palmeiras on May 26, 1970 (about 50,000 spectators) and at a game against Dynamo Kyiv on June 27, 1971 in the top league of the USSR Championship (51,000 spectators). Now it is designed for 28,051 places.

The stadium was built in 3 years by the method of public construction - each large enterprise of Lviv was responsible for its part of the facility. The construction was overseen by Volodymr Mazur, the third secretary of the city party committee, who himself performed part of the rough work on the construction site. Architects of the stadium: Yaroslav Nazarkevich, Larisa Skoryk, Yaroslav Porokhnavets and Volodymyr Blyusyuk.

In 1990, on the initiative of the president of "Karpat" Karl Miklos, the name "Friendship" was changed to "Ukraine".

On video: the stadium construction process, 1959.