National Arena Philip II of Macedonia is a multi-purpose stadium in Skopje,
Republic of Macedonia. Named after the ancient King Philip II of Macedon, it is
currently used mostly for football matches, but sometimes also for music
concerts or other events. It is the home stadium of FK Vardar and FK Rabotnički
from Skopje, both of which compete in the Macedonian First League, as well as
the home ground of the Macedonia national football team on almost all
occasions. On 30 June 2015 the UEFA announced that the National Arena Filip
II of Macedonia will host the 2017 UEFA Super Cup, Macedonia's first UEFA club
competition final. Reconstruction and expansion
The project for the south stand was designed in 1977 by architects Dragan
Krstev and Todorka Mavkova from Beton. Construction of the stadium in its
present form began in 1978, with the building of the south stand, which took
two years to finish. The reconstruction and expansion started after a long delay
in project implementation in January 2008. The construction of a new north
stand was finished in August 2009 and was put in use on 2 August 2009, the
Macedonian national holiday "Ilinden". Ten days later, on 12 August, the
Macedonia national football team played a friendly match against then World
Champions Spain, as part of the 100-year anniversary of football in Macedonia.
The reconstruction of the southern stand started in 2009, which was put into
operation on 30 July of that year for the match between FK Rabotnički and FC
Liverpool. Soon after, the construction of the new western and eastern stands
started. By mid July 2012, the majority of the stadium was completed with the
reconstruction of the new pitch and athletic track. On 25 July 2012, FK
Vardar played FC BATE Borisov in the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Champions
League to re-open the stadium. Construction cost
Since 2008, the stadium has seen investment of about two billion denari,
or €32 million. The second phase, which got underway in November 2011, is the
planned reconstruction of the pitch and athletic track. The athletic track
around the pitch, from the original 6 will be extended to 8 running tracks and
it will use Tartan track surface. Total cost for this phase is €3.5 million. By
2013 it should be finished with the completion of a new illuminated outer
facade. The total construction cost for all actions related to the stadium in
the period 2008-2013 is estimated to reach over €60 million.
Name Before the name change to Philip II
Arena at the beginning of 2009, the stadium was known as the Skopje City
Stadium. Notable matches
1985–86 UEFA Cup First round, Second leg - 2 October 1985 between FK Vardar and
FC Dinamo Bucureşti. 1987–88 European Cup First round, Second
leg - 30 September 1987 between FK Vardar and FC Porto.
1992–93 Macedonian Cup Final - 23 May 1993 between FK Vardar and FK Pelister.
UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying - 7 September 1994 between Macedonia and Denmark.
UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying - 12 October 1994 between Macedonia and Spain.
2000–01 UEFA Cup First round, First leg - 14 September 2000 between FK Pobeda
and AC Parma. 2003–04 UEFA Champions League Second
qualifying round, Second leg - 6 August 2003 between FK Vardar and CSKA Moscow.
2003–04 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round, First leg - 13 August
2003 between FK Vardar and AC Sparta Prague.
UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying - 6 September 2003 between Macedonia and England.
2003–04 UEFA Cup First round, Second leg - 15 October 2003 between FK Vardar and
AS Roma. 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - 9
October 2004 between Macedonia and Netherlands.
2005–06 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round, First leg - 27 July
2005 between FK Rabotnički and Lokomotiv Moscow.
2006–07 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round, Second leg - 23 August
2006 between FK Rabotnički and LOSC Lille.
2007–08 UEFA Cup First round, First leg - 20 September 2007 between FK
Rabotnički and Bolton Wanderers. UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying - 17 November
2007 between Macedonia and Croatia. 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - 6
September 2008 between Macedonia and Scotland.
2010–11 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round, First leg - 29 July
2010 between FK Rabotnički and FC Liverpool.
2011–12 UEFA Europa League Play-offs, Second leg - 25 August 2011 between FK
Rabotnički and SS Lazio. UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying - 8 September
2015 between Macedonia and Spain. 2017 UEFA Super Cup
Concerts 1994 – Lepa Brena held a concert held in
front of 35,000 people. 1995 – Dragana Mirković held a concert
held in front of 15,000 people. 2005 – Svetlana Ražnatović held a
concert in front of 30,000 people. 2007 – Toše Proeski held a concert in
front of 40,000 people. 2007 – Pink held a concert in front of
20,000 people. 2007 – Tarkan held a concert in front of
6,000 people. 2009 – Carlos Santana held a concert in
front of 15,000 people. 2012 – Garo & Tavitjan Brothers with the
project Macedonian heart beats in 7/8 featuring Nina Badrić, Željko Bebek,
Dado Topić, Tereza Kesovija, Josipa Lisac, Kaliopi, Hari Varešanović, Sergej
Ćetković, Goran Karan, Jelena Tomašević, Antonija Šola, and Aki Rahimovski, held
a concert in front of 61,000 people honoring the 21 years of Macedonian
independence. 2014 – Željko Joksimović held a concert
in front of 50,000 people. Gallery
References External links
Nacionalna Arena "Filip II Makedonski" - Skopje
Национална арена „Филип II Македонски" Philip II Arena at WorldStadiums.com
Arena Philip II of Macedon at MacedonianFootball.com
Новиот градски стадион