{"id":6320,"date":"2012-05-23T22:16:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-23T22:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stadiumguide.com\/?p=6320"},"modified":"2020-10-03T07:12:46","modified_gmt":"2020-10-03T07:12:46","slug":"donetsk-2012-venue-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stadiumguide.com\/donetsk-2012-venue-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Donetsk 2012 Venue Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Orientation<\/h3>\n

Donetsk has literally grown out of a steel plant. The city was founded when in the 19th century Welshman John Hughes built a steel plant in the Donbas basin, and it has grown to become the fifth city of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

One can call Donetsk the industrial capital of Ukraine, as it mixes steel plants, coal mines and other heavy industry. However, the city has recently undergone a couple of facelifts, which has turned the grey into glitter. The magnificent Donbass Arena can be regarded the most significant component of this regeneration.<\/p>\n

One has to admit though that Donetsk is likely the least sparkling of the Euro 2012 cities. As it is a young city, it lacks a historical city centre, and despite the odd nice building it does not have the charm of a Lviv or Kiev.<\/p>\n

Its young age and growth spurt in the Soviet era means that there is an abundance of the not-so-exciting architecture of those times. It however also means that it is a spacious city with wide avenues and a park on almost every street corner.<\/p>\n

The one street that needs remembering is Artema Street (Artyoma Street). It is the main artery of the city centre, starting at the railway station in the north and running all the way down south until the end of the centre. It has a length of about 10 kilometres and somewhere in the middle you pass the Donbass Arena.<\/p>\n

The proper city centre starts about just south of the Donbass Arena. It\u2019s quite stretched out over a couple of kilometres, mixing up offices, shops, entertainment and residential buildings. In general it is not very hard to orientate yourself as the centre is enclosed on two sides (east and west) by large water reservoirs, and on its southern side by a large industrial estate.<\/p>\n

Donetsk has chosen not to place the Fan Zone right in the middle of the city centre, but instead at the old Shakhtar Stadium. It doesn\u2019t lie far out of the centre though, straight on the other side of the western reservoir. What\u2019s more, the Fan Zone lies right next the newly opened and splendid Shcherbakova Park.<\/p>\n

The walk from the heart of the city centre (Lenin Square) to the Fan Zone, crossing the bridge, will only take about 15 minutes. The Donbass Arena, however, lies almost 4 kilometres away, but the Euro organisation has promised that shuttle buses connect the Fan Zone with the centre and the stadium.<\/p>\n

Overall, Donetsk does not deserve the negative reputation it has among some of its fellow countrymen. Not spectacular, and perhaps a bit bland, but with its parks, avenues and shopping malls also not unpleasant at all.<\/p>\n

The stadium<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Donbass Arena<\/a> \u2013 51,504 seats.<\/p>\n

If someone told you that the Donbass Arena is the best of what Euro 2012 has to offer, it would be hard to argue against it. It is without doubt the highlight of Donetsk.<\/p>\n

The stands of the bowl-shaped stadium run right onto the pitch and with its three tiers it looks larger than the 51,500 seats it really holds. The exterior most resembles a UFO and can be lit in several colours at night.<\/p>\n

The Donbass Arena is the home of FC Shakhtar, the UEFA Cup winners of 2009, and by now a household name amongst football fans. Pushed forward by the millions of billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, the club has become the dominant force in Ukrainian football and has this season added its seventh league title to its trophy room.<\/p>\n

One of the most attractive aspects of the Donbass Arena is its location. It lies only just north of the city centre, and can easily be walked to from most city centre locations.<\/p>\n

The stadium lies close to the banks of the Kalmius reservoir (the one on the east), and is surrounded by several parks. So if the weather is nice, there is no reason not to leave a bit early for the stadium. There are also a few shopping malls at close distance.<\/p>\n

One can normally visit the Shakhtar museum, and regular tours are being run around the stadium, but of course these have been cancelled for the duration of the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n \t\t\n\t\t\t\t