Polish Ekstraklasa football club GKS Katowice has officially moved into its new stadium, with an injury time winner for the home team providing a dramatic debut for Arena Katowice.
Sunday’s Silesian Classic saw Filip Szymczak’s 101st minute goal secure a 2-1 win against Górnik Zabrze and send the majority of the capacity 15,048 crowd home happy.
GKS, which was promoted from the second tier I Liga last season, bid farewell to its previous home, Stadion Miejski, with a 1-0 win over Zagłębie Lubin on March 9.
Arena Katowice is located south of the club’s now-former stadium, which first opened in 1955, and forms part of a wider complex that also includes a sports and entertainment hall, catering to the volleyball operation of GKS, with capacity for over 3,000 people.
The complex has been developed at a cost of over PLN400m (£79.9m/€95.7m/$103.5m), with GKS yesterday (Tuesday) resuming season ticket sales for the remaining home games this season, versus Puszcza Niepołomice, Legia Warsaw, Cracovia and Lech Poznań.
Arena Katowice’s debut comes after I Liga club Odra Opole last month officially opened its new stadium, Itaka Arena, with a friendly match against German outfit FC Magdeburg.
Ahead of the opening of the 11,600-capacity venue, it was announced that local travel agency Itaka had acquired naming rights to the facility.
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