CHORZOW - THE STADION SLASKI CHORZOW - 47,000 CAPACITY
About the Stadion Slaski Chorzów The Silesia or Slaski stadium is currently the biggest stadium in use today in Poland. It was originally opened in 1956 with a capacity of 87,000, although it often held crowds of over 120,000 – the biggest ever crowd was for a game versus Gornik Zabrze and FK Austria Vienna in the European Cup in 1963.
Since 1992 the stadium has been home to the National team, and to comply with UEFA regulations it was made all seater – taking capacity down to 47.246. It is a massive open bowl of a stadium with no cover for any spectators. It has also hosted a number of big games from local team Ruch Chorzów, the last being a UEFA Cup tie with Inter Milan in 2000. The stadium has also hosted Speedway, including the World Championships in 1973, 1976, 1979 and 1986 as well as more recently the3 Speedway Grand Prix of Europe in 2002 and 2003. In 2007 it also hosted sell out concerts featuring Genesis, Linkin Park and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
As part of the plans for Euro 2012 the Silesia Stadium located in the city will be redeveloped and will become home to Ruch once the tournament has finished. The new stadium would hold 60,000.
Who plays there? The Stadium is home to the Polish National team as well as the occasional big game played by Ruch Chorzó and Gornik Zabrze. The national team often attract crowds of 30,000 but it has been along time since the stadium sold out for a football match. Since the closure of the national stadium in Warsaw the stadium has become the biggest in Poland.
How to get there The easiest way to reach the stadium is by tram to the Petla stop on Chorzowska. The stadium is only actually a 10 minute walk from the town centre but the roads are busy in this part of the country so public transport is the best option.
For a much better view of football in the region go to Footiemap.com.
Getting a ticket Ticket availability will depend on who is playing. For the national team games, tickets can be purchased in advance from http://www.pzpn.pl. Price of tickets will depend on the competition and the opponents – expect friendly games against opposition such as Ivory Coast or Tunisia to be sold at 20Zloty whilst WC qualifying games against the likes of England will start from 80Zloty or more.
Club games are sold via the normal outlets for the individual teams. Tickets may be available on the day of the game depending on who is playing – do not expect any for games such as Chorzow versus Gornik Zabrze.
STADION ROCHU - 10,000 CAPACITY
About the Stadion Ruchu Chorzów The very basic Ruchu stadium is beginning to show its age. It has been home to Ruch for over 80 years, although the current stadium was rebuilt as recently as 1968. Today it is an oval shaped ground, with three open sides and one covered main stand. Views are good from all bar the first few rows where a fence restricts the view of the action. The seats are simply bolted onto the terrace and so they are simply built for functionality and not comfort. Bigger games are played at the Slaski down the road, although in recent years there haven’t been many opportunities for these to take place.
Who plays there? The stadium is home to the club of the same name – Ruch Chorzów who are one of the most successful teams in Polish football history. Whilst success has been thin on the ground in the past few years, during the period before and after the Second World War they dominated domestic football. They were formed in 1920, and entered the first national championship in 1925. They won their first championship in 1933, and then went on to win every single championship bar 1937 before the outbreak of the war in 1939. After the war they continued where they left on, winning the title in 1951, 1952 and 1953.
The club had to wait until the mid 1970’s for another sustained period of success when they captured three more titles including the domestic double in 1974. They also reached the quarter final of the UEFA Cup in the same year, losing eventually to Feyenoord in extra time. The following year they won the title again and progressed in the European Cup to the last 8, beating Hvidore and Fenerbahce before losing 4-3 over two legs to a Platini-inspired St Etienne.
Since the final championship win in the 1970’s, they have won the league once more in 1989 and the Polish Cup in 1996. More recently they have spent time in the lower leagues, only returning to the Ekstraklasa in 2007 to renew their rivalry with Gornik Zabrze and GKS Katowice.
How to get there Just to the south of the stadium is the Dworzec kolejowy railway station which is on the main Katowice-Chorzów rail network.
Getting a ticket With an average attendance of around 6,500 tickets are not hard to come by. However, with the return of the two derbies this season with GTS Katowice and Gornik Zabrze expect these games to sell out if they are not moved to the national stadium down the road. Tickets for normal games cost 40Zloty for the covered Trybuna Gorna, 30Zloty for the uncovered Trybuna Dolna and 20Zloty for general admission.
Getting around Chorzow is part of the greater Katowice conurbation, similar to the towns of Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund in Germany. It is difficult to know where one starts and the other one ends. Public transport options include trains, trams and buses.
Chorzów does not have an airport of its own and so the nearest one is in the nearby town of Katowice. The airport is used as a hub by Wizzair who fly here daily from Belfast, Bournemouth, Coventry, Doncaster-Sheffield, Liverpool, London Luton and London Stansted. Ryanair also offer flights from Bristol and Dublin. To reach Chorzów catch one of the regular shuttle buses from the airport to the main train station which should take around 40 minutes and cost 20Zloty where you can then catch a train to Chorzów which should take less than 20 minutes.
About the Stadion Slaski Chorzów
About the Stadion Ruchu Chorzów