Featured image credit: Zagłębie Sosnowiec
ArcelorMittal Park, a new football stadium in the Polish city of Sosnowiec, staged its first match on Saturday as I Liga club Zagłębie Sosnowiec defeated GKS Katowice 2-1.
The 11,600-capacity stadium forms part of the Zagłębiowskiego Parku Sportowego (ZPS), a new sports complex that also includes a 3,502-seat arena and a 2,545-seat winter sports stadium.
A capacity crowd attended the opening match on Saturday, which saw the home side go 2-0 up before GKS Katowice scored a last-minute penalty. Zagłębie Sosnowiec’s Meik Karwot scored the first-ever goal at the stadium after just eight minutes.
Following the match, Karina Skowronek, president of the ZPS, told Radio Eska: “The influx of several thousand fans almost simultaneously was a challenge for us and the organisers of the events, but in my opinion we passed the first exam well. This is also confirmed by the fans in their social media posts, and it is their opinion that is most important to us.”
In August last year, the Polish division of steel production giant ArcelorMittal acquired naming rights to ZPS. The five-year deal includes naming rights to all three of the complex’s facilities, with the company paying PLN1.5m (£280,000/€318,000/$337,000) per year. ArcelorMittal’s steel was used to develop the three ZPS facilities.
In April 2019, it was reported that a contractor had been selected to deliver ZPS, with work commencing that month and having continued through COVID-19. The complex also includes restaurants, retail outlets, a sports museum and other attractions.
Zagłębie Sosnowiec currently sits in 11th place in the second-tier I Liga.
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