Georgi Asparuhov Stadium - Levski Stadium Guide

Georgi Asparhuv stadium was constructed over a three year period beginning in 1960 after the construction of the Vasil Levski National Stadium. The previous stadium known as Levski Football Field was essentially demolished to make way for this new stadium, and as way of recompense they were given a plot of land and planning permission by the city. This was after Levski were forced to share Yunak Stadium in the period immediately after the national stadium opened.

Designed by Lazar Parashkevanov, it is sometimes known as Gerena by supporters after the neighbourhood it is located within.The inaugural match was played on 10th March 1963 against PFC Spartak Pleven, and over the course of the 20th century additional sports facilities were added to the sporting complex. Equipped with an athletics track, and a roof for the main stand, the stadium first opened with room for 38,000 fans.

To stadium’s record attendance was set on 4th March 1970 when an estimated 60,000 supporters saw Levski Sofia take on Gornik Zabrze in the quarter final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. The figure was also unofficially matched during the 1973/1974 season when now dissolved PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad game to town.

After the stadium was converted to all-seating in the 1990s it appears as if the attendance record is unlikely to ever be beaten in the future. The reconstruction began in 1992 which eventually saw the athletics track built over was delayed several times due to the economic crisis between 1993 and 1997. It was only after the club received donations from fans that the expansion work to 29,500 was complete, and it was officially reopened on 5th May 1999 with a title deciding match against PFC Litex Lovech.

As for the future of Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, it appears that the PFC Levski Sofia will continue to stay here for the foreseeable future. In December 2012 the club revealed plans to rebuild the stadium as a 30,000 capacity football ground across four phases. The West Stand was rebuilt as part of phase 1 of this plan, in order to coincide with Levski’s 100th anniversary on May 2014.