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Pancho Aréna

UEFA Elite Stadium
Location	Felcsút, Hungary
Owner	Felcsúti Utánpótlás Neveléséért Alapítvány
Operator	Puskás Akadémia FC
Capacity	3,865
Field size	105x68m
Surface	Grass Field
Construction
Broke ground	2012
Opened	21 April 2014
Construction cost	HUF 3.8 billion
Architect	Imre Makovecz Tamás Dobrosi
Structural engineer	László Pongor
Tenants
Puskás Akadémia FC Fehérvár FC (2016–2018)

Pancho Aréna is a stadium in Felcsút, Hungary. It is primarily used for football matches and serves as the home stadium for Puskás Akadémia FC. Between 2015 and 2018, the stadium also hosted the three-time champions Fehérvár FC due to the reconstruction of Sóstói Stadion.

History

The stadium officially opened on 21 April 2014, featuring the final of the 2014 Puskás Cup.

On 26 April 2014, the first Hungarian League match was played at the stadium between Puskás Akadémia and Videoton. The match ended with 3–1 away win.

On 30 June 2016, the first UEFA Europa League match took place at the stadium when Videoton FC, now MOL Fehérvár FC, and FC Zaria Bălți met in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League. It occurred in Pancho Aréna due to the demolition of Videoton's home stadium, Sóstói Stadion.

Pancho Aréna was listed among the top three most beautiful stadiums of the world according to stadiumdb.com: "The wood-lined curved interior to the stand gives spectators the feeling that they are attending a Sunday church service, not a football match. The 3,500 seater stadium opened in 2014 and was the brainchild of local architect Imre Makovecz".

On 26 March 2018, the first international match was played at the stadium when Bulgaria hosted Kazakhstan in a friendly match. The match ended with a 2–1 win for Bulgaria.

On 31 October 2023, it was announced that the Israel national football team would play their remaining UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Switzerland and Romania at the stadium, a decision influenced by the ongoing 2023 Israel–Hamas war. On 15 November 2023, Israel hosted Switzerland and drew at the stadium. On 18 November 2023, Israel hosted Romania in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match. Romania beat Israel 2-1 and qualified for the UEFA Euro 2024.

Controversy

Many allegations of corruption have surfaced regarding the stadium, as Hungary's current prime minister, Viktor Orbán (known for his passion for football), spent much of his childhood in the village. Pancho Arena was built just meters away from his Felcsút estate. Although the stadium was not constructed directly using government funds, companies that provided the majority of the funding won several high-value public procurement procedures during Orbán's prime ministership. Additionally, Orbán's government passed laws granting benefits to companies supporting sports investments. Allegations were fueled by the fact that the stadium seats 3,500 people, while the total population of the village is under 1,700.

Milestone matches

26 April 2014	Puskás Akadémia	1–3	Videoton	2013–14 Nemzeti Bajnokság I First Nemzeti Bajnokság I match
	Tischler 63'	(Report)	Nikolić 20' Zé Luís 74' Filipe Oliveira 78'	Attendance: 3,633 Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

24 September 2015	Puskás Akadémia	0–2	Debrecen	2014–15 Magyar Kupa (First Magyar Kupa match)
		(Report)	Szakály 53' Kulcsár 94'	Referee: Csaba Pintér (Hungary)

30 June 2016	Videoton	3–0	Zaria Bălți	2016–17 UEFA Europa League (First UEFA Europa League match)
				Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albanian)

17 July 2018 (2018-07-17)	MOL Vidi	2–1	F91 Dudelange	2018–19 UEFA Champions League (first UEFA Champions League match)
20:15	Lazović 18' Šćepović 58'	Report	Clément 54'	Attendance: 2,514 Referee: Donald Robertson (Scotland)

Milestone matches (youth squad)

21 April 2014	Puskás Akadémia	0–1	La Fábrica	2014 Puskás Cup Final (First match)
		(Report)	Miguel Garcia 49'	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

4 November 2015	Puskás Akadémia	1–0	Celtic	2015–16 UEFA Youth League (First international match)
	Damásdi 20'	(Report)		Attendance: 1,230 Referee: Vadims Direktorenko (Latvia)

International

24 March 2018	Bulgaria	2–1	Kazakhstan	Friendly
	Popov 23' Bodurov 90+4'	(Report)	55' Tungyshbayev	Attendance: 100 Referee: Bognár

15 November 2023	Israel	1–1	Switzerland	UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group I
	Weissman 88'	Report	36' Vargas	Referee: Taylor

18 November 2023	Israel	1–2	Romania	UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group I
				Referee: Letexier

Attendances

As of 21 December 2018

Puskás Akadémia only played three matches at the Pancho Aréna during the 2013–14 season. This table includes only domestic league matches.

Gallery

• Aerial view
• The main entrance
• The Pancho Aréna from the Főutca of Felcsút
• The interior
• The view of Pancho Aréna from the Vál-völgyi train
• The roof of the Pancho Aréna

References

1. "PAFC: húsvéthétfőn avatják fel a Pancho Arénát". www.nso.hu. 3 March 2014.
2. "Videó: járja be Ön is a felcsúti Pancho Arénát!". www.nso.hu. 15 April 2014.
3. "Gólokkal avatta fel a PAFC új arénáját a Videoton az NB I-ben". www.nso.hu. 26 April 2014.
4. "Videoton FC: A Videoton city will be created with the new stadium". 12 December 2015.
5. "The top three most beautiful football stadiums in the world". Stadiumdb.com. 17 October 2017.
6. "Bulgaria vs Kazakhstan. International Match".
7. "A felcsúti Pancho Arénában játssza a hazai Eb-selejtezőit az izraeli fociválogatott". telex (in Hungarian). 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
8. "Eb 2024: Felcsúton játszik az izraeli válogatott – hivatalos - NSO". www.nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
9. "Eb 2024: Izrael drámai végjátékban ikszelt Svájccal Felcsúton - NSO". www.nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
10. "Israel-Romania | European Qualifiers 2024". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
11. "Eb 2024: Puscas-gól a Pancho Arénában – Románia és Svájc is kijutot". www.nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
12. "Israel and Switzerland draw 1-1 in Euro 2024 qualifying game in Hungary". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
13. "2013–14 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 1 July 2014.
14. "2014–15 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 24 May 2016.
15. "2015–16 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 24 May 2016.
16. "2016–17 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 28 March 2017.
17. "2017–18 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 28 March 2017.
18. "2018–19 Nézőszámok". magyarfutball.hu. 20 December 2019.

47°27′50″N 18°35′12″E / 47.4640°N 18.5868°E / 47.4640; 18.5868

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