Józef Piłsudski Cracovia Stadium
The Józef Piłsudski Cracovia Stadium is a football stadium located in Kraków, Poland. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Cracovia. Originally, the first Cracovia stadium was built in 1912. It was demolished in mid-2009. From then until late 2010, an entirely new construction was raised in roughly the same location where the old stadium stood. After reconstruction the stadium holds 15,114 people.
The stadium meets the criteria for UEFA Category 3
The stadium's design and construction has been frequently awarded in many architectural contests.
In 2010, it was honored with the Janusz Bogdanowskie award, given by the Archi-Szopa Association for the best architectural construction in Kraków City.
The stadium is located south of Błonia Park, near the stadium of Cracovia's archrival Wisła Kraków.
The stadium is named after Polish Chief of State, Marshal Józef Piłsudski
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match between Ukraine and Kosovo on 9 October 2016 was played in the stadium due to Ukraine's Ukraine's non-recognition of Kosovo's travel documents. Ukraine's 2022–23 UEFA Nations League home fixtures were also played in this stadium due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. From 2023 to 2025, the venue was used by Puszcza Niepołomice to host their home games following promotion to the top-flight, due to the stadium in Niepołomice not meeting the Ekstraklasa requirements.
Construction
The stadium design was made by a consortium of Polish and Spanish architectural companies, Estudio Lamela Sp. z o.o, Estudio Lamela S.L., Sener Sp. z o.o. and Sener Ingenieria y Sistemas S.A. The general constructor was the consortium of German Alpine Bau Deutschland AG, Austrian Alpine Bau GmbH and Polish Alpine Construction Polska Sp. z o.o and KPBP „Budus” S.A. Cost was planned at 157 mln PLN. In June 2009, the process of construction began. Firstly, the old Cracovia stadium, built in 1912, was demolished. Construction was completed in September 2010. Cracovia played its first official match in the new stadium on 25 September 2010.Characteristic
Overall
The new stadium is located within the square of these streets: Kraszewskiego, Focha, Kałuży and Zwierzyniec. The exact location has been slightly changed in comparison to the old one. The stadium still occupies the central part of the plot, but now it is parallel to the Focha street.The stadium is a typical football-specific stadium. The field dimensions are the FIFA standard 105 x 68 meters. The distance between sideline and first row seats varies from 6m, by 8m to 10m. The stadium has three one-level stands and one two-level main stand. The facility is an all-seater and it is fully roofed. The building out of all four corners means that the division into separate stands is not readily visible from the exterior of the building the stadium creates a single compact structure. Height of the stands are respectively 14, 10, 12 and 19 meters