PGE Arena (Gdansk)

The Stadion Energa Gdańsk, previously called the Baltic Arena and PGE Arena Gdańsk, is a football stadium in Gdańsk, Poland. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Lechia Gdańsk currently playing in the Ekstraklasa.

The Stadium is located on ul. Pokoleń Lechii Gdańsk (“Generations of Lechia Gdańsk street”) in the northern part of the city (Letnica district). The capacity of the stands is 41,620 spectators, all seated and roofed. The stadium is the largest arena in Ekstraklasa and the third largest in the country (after National Stadium and Silesia Stadium).

General information

Official website: https://stadionenerga.pl/

Arena capacity: 41,620 spectators

Address: ul. Pokoleń Lechii Gdańsk 1, 80-560 Gdańsk, Poland

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 54°23′24″N 18°38′25″E

Year of construction: 2008-2011

Construction cost: EUR €204 million

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 105 × 68 metres

Seating plan of PGE Arena

When choosing a place in the stadium, use the PGE Arena scheme above.

Where to buy tickets?

Tickets for Lechia games can be bought online, at the fan store at Stadion Energa Gdansk, or at any of the other sales points, of which the one on the Ul. Karmelicka 1 near Gdansk’s main railway station may be most convenient.

Polish citizens need a Lechia Fan Card (Karta Kibica) to be able to buy tickets or get access to the stadium. Foreigners should be able to buy tickets with just an ID. Fan Cards can be bought at most of the Lechia stores.

Tickets can also be bought on the gate on the day of the match, but the same Fan Card requirement applies.

Ticket prices start at PLN 20.00 for a lower-tier seat behind the goal and range up to between PLN 35.00 and PLN 100.00 for a seat at one of the sides. Tickets for the matches against the top teams are PLN 10.00 more expensive.

How to get there?

The stadium is located in the northern part of the city, across the Martwa Wisła River, in the Letnica district. The main entrance is located on the side of newly created ul. Pokoleń Lechii Gdańsk (Generations of Lechia Gdańsk street).

Main roads that leading to the stadium are the ul. Marynarki Polskiej (“Polish Navy street”) and the ul. Uczniowska. Getting to the stadium is easily possible by public transport, mainly due to tram lines #1, 7, 10 leading to tram stops called Mostostal or Stadion Energa Gdańsk.

However they are not available on the match days, due to the fact that tram platforms are not prepared to handle such increased number of passengers. Therefore, additional tram lines are available for the football fanatics during every match day. Their final destination is tram stop Kliniczna located about 3 km away from the stadium.

Moreover, on every match day, special free of charge SKM (Fast Urban Railway) line leads from Gdańsk Główny railway station to Gdańsk stadium Expo station located near the stadium. This line was modernized especially for the UEFA European Football Championship in 2012.

It has been used for the first time, before and after the Ekstraklasa match between Lechia Gdańsk and Legia Warszawa which took place on May 3, 2012. It is worth noting that this line is also available for passengers in the days when the trade exhibition take place in the new headquarters of the MTG SA Gdańsk International Fair Co. located next to the Stadion Energa Gdańsk.

Small general guide

The Car Park

At their guests’ disposal, there are three car parks, described below, which are in the vicinity of the stadium.

Passenger cars:

• P1 — an open-access, paid parking area for passenger cars; access from Pokoleń Lechii Gdańsk St.; Price: the first hour is free, for the next hours you are charged at 2 PLN;
• P4 — an open-access, paid parking area for passenger cars; access from Żaglowa St.; Price: the first hour is free, for the next hours you are charged at 2 PLN.

Disabled persons:

• P1 — a free-of-charge car park for the disabled; access from Pokoleń Lechii Gdańsk St.

Bus:

• P3A — a free car park for buses; access from Pokoleń Lechii Gdańsk St.

These car parks are available everyday, except for the days in which mass events are organized. They issue information on the car park open hours during mass events along with full description of the organizational aspect of the specific events.

Where to eat?

Stadion Energa Gdansk is located in a rather empty area mixed up with some dispersed industry, railroad tracks, a few offices, and the odd house. There are practically no bars or restaurants around, and eating and drinking can therefore better be done in Gdansk’s old town or in beach resort Sopot.

Hotel Arena is located at a short walk from the arena and will serve you well if you come just for the match or travel by car. Otherwise, you will likely find it more pleasant to stay in Gdansk’s very nice old town. You can also decide to stay in beach resort Sopot.

T29 Sports Bar & Restaurant

On 20 January 2012 after several months of preparation a special club bar named T29 Sports Bar & Restaurant was opened to the public. Whole interior design is related with the different events which refers to the history of the club.

Both paintings show an artistic interpretation of the panorama of the old Lechia stadium. T29 Sports Bar & Restaurant is situated in the north part of the stadium, just below the visiting team’s supporters sector. The pub is a two-level construction with the total area of 800m2. There are 39’ TV-sets located on both stories of the pub.

Every match of Lechia Gdańsk and another important sport events (incl. matches of Polish Ekstraklasa) are broadcast there every day. T29 Sports Bar & Restaurant is open for the visitors 7 days a week.

Stadium characteristics

Overall

The stadium is a football-specific stadium, which means that the turf is not ejected or changeable. For that reason it also lacks an athletics track (running). The stadium is 236 meters long, 203 meters wide and 45 meters high.

The arena’s exterior is designed to resemble amber which has long been extracted on the Baltic coast. Whole roof construction is based on 82 girders. Roof structure has a total area of 44 000 m². The facade and the roof are covered with 18 000 plates of polycarbonate multiwall sheet, in 6 shades, with a total area of 4.5 hectares. Two logos (placed on the western and eastern side of the stadium), are made in LED technology, with a height of 8 meters and length of 35 meters.

The pitch has dimensions of 105×68 meters, and its distance from the grandstand is 10.5 m behind the goals, and 8.5 m from the side lines. The grandstands under the standards of FIFA and UEFA are covered, the center which is hovering over the field however will be uncovered. The issue of installing a sliding roof was considered, but the idea was abandoned due to costs and limited time to complete the construction. Remaining space is reserved for the other participants of the event (staff, etc.). The stadium meets the criteria for UEFA Category 4.

History

Stadion Energa Gdansk, previously known as PGE Arena, was built to serve as one of the playing venues of the 2012 European Championships.

The PGE Arena officially opened on 6 August 2011, and the first match between Lechia Gdansk and Cracovia was played 8 days later.

In 2009, the naming rights of the stadium were sold to Polish energy firm PGE, resulting in the name PGE Arena. The naming rights deal ended in 2015 and a new deal was reached with sponsor Energa, resulting in the new name Stadion Energa Gdansk.

During Euro 2012, the PGE Arena hosted the three group matches of Spain as well as the quarter-final between Germany and Greece (4-2).