The Puskás Ferenc Stadium in Budapest, Hungary, seats 67,215 spectators. In the early 2000s, the Hungarian Football Federation faced the need to build a new national stadium, as the stadium built in 1953 no longer met modern standards. Various options were discussed for a long time, ranging from renovating the existing structure to constructing a new one. In 2011, the reconstruction was estimated to cost 35 billion forints (approximately €95 million).
The impetus for accelerating the decision to build a new stadium came with Hungary's bid to host matches of the 2020 European Football Championship, submitted in the fall of 2013. According to the plan, the new stadium would have a capacity of approximately 65,000 spectators. The final version of the reconstruction plan was presented by August 1, 2014. Construction began in 2017 and was completed in 2019, effectively entailing the demolition of the old structure and the construction of a completely new arena in its place. Construction costs ranged from 90 to 100 billion forints (€273 million). In September of that year, Budapest was selected to host three group stage matches and one round of 16 match of Euro 2020.
In 2016, the old stadium was dismantled, and construction began on a new sports complex, which was completed in 2019 at a total cost of €533 million. The official opening of the new arena took place on November 15 of that year with a match between Hungary and Uruguay, which ended in a 2-1 victory for the visiting team.
On May 31, 2023, the UEFA Europa League final took place at the Puskas Arena, where the Spanish team Sevilla beat the Italian team Roma.
We usually send one letter a month and another one on the eve of big holidays.