Former names Hungária Körút Operator MTK Budapest Opened 2016 Phone +36 1 325 1794 Team MTK Budapest FC | Location Budapest, Hungary Surface Grass
Field Capacity 5,322 Owner Hungary Former name Hungária körúti stadion | |
Full name Hidegkuti Nándor stadion Field size 105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft) Address Budapest, Salgótarjáni út 12-14., 1087 Hungary Similar Bozsik Stadion, Ferenc Szusza Stadium, Stadion Rudolf Illovszky, Sóstói Stadion, Ferenc Puskás Stadium | ||
Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Budapest, Hungary. The stadium was opened on 13 October 2016. It was renamed after the MTK Budapest and Hungary footballer Nándor Hidegkuti. It is currently used for football matches and is the home stadium of MTK Budapest.
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Planning
Tamás Deutsch, Hungarian Parliament MP, announced that by 2016 a new stadium will have been built. The club have 6.5 billion HUF to spend on reconstruction. The construction of a new stadium is expected to be finished in 2016. The new facility will be able to host 5000 spectators and will be the home of the Sándor Károly Football Academy. The first phase of the construction will start at the end of the 2013-14 Hungarian League season with the demolition of the current stadium. During the construction the club will play their matches at one of the stadiums in Budapest, decided by the fans of the club.
On 4 November 2014, the construction of the new stadium became a highlighted investment. The Hungarian state provides 1.39 billion HUF for the construction of a sports hall at the Lantos Mihiály Sportelep, 3.91 billion HUF for the reconstruction of the Nándor Hidegkuti stadium, and 350 million HUF for the training pitch next to the stadium. Altogether 5.65 billion HUF.
On 5 December 2014, the first drafts of the new stadium were published on the official website of the club. The tender was won by Bord Építész Stúdió Kft, led by Péter Bordás. The new stadium will be able to host 5000 spectators and it will be opened in the summer of 2016. The UEFA stadium category of the new stadium will be 3 according to the plans.
On 12 December 2014, new photos of the new stadium were published on the website of the club. The opening match will be played in 2016 against Sporting Lisbon.
On 18 June 2015, the new possible plans were revealed by the Hungarian epiteszforum.hu. The plans were delivered by designers of two companies, Sportarchitects and Azmpl.
Demolition
On 6 November 2014, the demolishion of the stadium started. First the floodlights system was uninstalled and then the seats were removed.
In May 2015 the demolition of the main stand started.
Construction
On 6 November 2014, the demolition of the old stadium started by removing the old seats and the lights system.
On 16 November 2015, the foundation stone of the new stadium was laid. Tamás Deutsch, president of the club, said that it is an important step in the life of the club and its supporters. At the ceremony, Kálmán Szekrényessy's great-great-grandchild, founding member of the club, József Kanta, the captain of the MTK Budapest FC in the 2015–16 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season, Olivér Horváth and Maja Pásztor, representatives of the Sándor Károly Academy, were present.
On 9 December 2015, the first post was placed officially with the aid of two male MTK Budapest footballers Sándor Torghelle, Ákos Baki and one female Lilla Nagy. Until March 2016, another 165 posts will be placed.
On 7 July 2016, the grass became visible on the pitch of the stadium.
On 24 September 2016, the seats were mounted on both the east and west stands of the stadium. Three different colours, white, light blue and dark blue, were used and they were placed randomly as in any modern stadiums to hide the effects of low attendances.
On 6 October 2016, the displays were tested by broadcasting a scene from a pornographic film starred by Hungarian pornographic actress Michelle Wilde.
On 13 October 2016, the stadium was officially opened with the MTK Budapest–Sporting friendly match. Sporting Clube de Portugal brought only three players from their first squad (Azbe Jug, Ricardo Esgaio, and Matheus Pereira due to the fact that the club have to play in the third round of the 2016–17 Taça de Portugal against F.C. Famalicão). At the opening ceremony, Viktor Orbán, prime minister of Hungary delivered a speech, followed by Member of European Parliament and president of MTK Budapest, Tamás Deutsch.
On 22 October 2016 the first Nemzeti Bajnokság I match was played in the stadium when MTK Budapest hosted Gyirmót FC Győr on the 13 week of the 2016–17 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season. The first goal was scored by the MTK icon Sándor Torghelle in the 75th minute of the game which ended with a 1–0 victory for the MTK Budapest.
Trivia
Behind the goals there are high grey walls in the newly built arena. When the public became aware of this fact after seeing the photos of the new stadium, it cast doubt on the safety of the stadium. Therefore, the journalists of the Hungarian sport magazine, Nemzeti Sport, checked and measured the distance between the walls and the goals. The result showed that the stadium was built according to the UEFA regulations for stadium constructions.
Márton Fülöp goal
The southern goal was named after the former MTK Budapest FC's goalkeeper Márton Fülöp who died at the age of 32.