You can walk down the silent streets of Podil district which lie next to the noisy Khreshchatyk. You can visit different museums, cathedrals, enjoy the beauty of parks…In the capital of Ukraine there is a place which combines the spectacular landscape and special architecture. This is Dynamo stadium named after the legendary Valeriy Lobanovskyi.
Football field instead of greenhouses
In the beginning of the 20th century on the territory of the present-day stadium there were greenhouses which supplied the royal residence MariyinskyiPalace with fruit and vegetables. Next to greenhouses there was also the popular restaurant called Château de Fleur.
In the 1920s the local Dynamo sports society built several sport grounds, football field, basketball, volleyball and handball pitches on this territory. But this was not enough for sportsmen so it was decided to build a large stadium with necessary infrastructure.
The authors of the building project were V. Osmak and V. Bespalyi. In 1934 Dynamo stadium was opened for spectators.
It has seats for 23,000 spectators who came here to enjoy the game of FC Dynamo Kyiv.
Since that time the stadium became the home arena for our club. Kyiv citizens attended Dynamo matches very eagerly. In 1936 they saw how our players defeated Turkey national team 9:1 and grabbed the winner against Moscow Army Club (3:1) in the first Soviet Top League match. In 1937 on this stadium our team won against Torpedo Moscow (2:0) and in 1939 – against Dinamo Moscow (3:1).
Before the Second World War Dynamo won the league silver and bronze on the new stadium.
During the war the stadium survived, despite even in the 1990s they found several bombs under toe cams…
Postwar revival
After the war Dynamo played on the stadium named after Soviet leader at that time Nikita Khrushchov (today – NSC Olimpiyskyi).
Dynamo Stadium was rebuilt in 1956. Since that time the reserve team played there.
Spectators came to Dynamo stadium again after it was decided to rebuild it for 1980 Olympic Games. Besides the electronic panel four light-structures were installed around the pitch. The quantity of seats was reduced to 18,000 but the administrative building became higher. Toe cams, swimming pools, tennis courts and basketball pitches were also renewed.
And though during the Olympic Games football matches were not held at Dynamo Stadium participants had their training sessions on its pitch. Later USSR athletics competition and European Under-17 Football Championship took place at Dynamo Stadium.
Named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi
The new era of Dynamo Stadium began in the 1990s. The stadium was rebuilt for football only. They got rid of toe cams and made the pitch correspond international standards. New plastic seats were installed for spectators.
Behind the central stand the office of “FC Dynamo Kyiv” Ltd. is situated. In 2001 they opened a new fitness centre with a swimming pool on the territory of the stadium.
After death of the legendary coach Valeriy Lobanovskyi in May of 2002 Dynamo shareholders decided to name the stadium after him.
Since 1996 till 2011 Dynamo Kyiv played all home matches at this stadium.
In 2014 near our club arena took place revolutionary events of Maidan.
Since 2012 Dynamo reservists play here. The stadium corresponds all international security standards and is fully equipped for TV broadcasts.
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