Kiev’s Olympic Stadium, or the Olimpijski National Sports Complex, in Ukraine was officially reopened after a three year rebuild project, in October 2011. Designed by gmp – von Gerkan and Marg & Partners, the project required an investment of $470m.

The renovation was undertaken as a run-up to the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship finals, which Ukraine and Poland are hosting together. The project has transformed the stadium into an international level multifunctional sports arena. The stadium is now spread across an area of 145,741 square metres and has a capacity of 70,050 spectators.

History of the Ukrainian sporting facility

Originally known as the Red Stadium, the Kiev Olympic Stadium was first opened in August 1923. The southern and eastern stands of the stadium were built out of the Cherepanova hill, at the base of which the stadium is located.

As sports gained prominence in Russia, building a bigger sports arena was considered. In 1935, a competition for the design of a new stadium was launched and architect Mikhaylo Grechina was selected as the winner. The rebuilt stadium, called Republic Stadium, was opened in 1941.

The Republic Stadium was expanded between 1966 and 1967 and a major reconstruction was carried out between 1978 and 1980. It was renovated again in 1999.

Details of the latest renovations to the Olympic Stadium

The renovation started in December 2008. It retained some of the historical elements of the stadium, including the filigree pre-stressed concrete upper level built in 1968. The frame of the stadium’s roof has been detached and placed away from the bowl.

The upper tier has been given a unique appearance by encasing it in a 45,000 square metre spoked-wheel membrane roof. The translucent roof is made of laminated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) glass fibre and covers 100% of the seats.

The lower tier of the stadium, built originally in 1948, was demolished and rebuilt. It was completely redesigned and updated according to the latest safety requirements. The west stand of the stadium was also rebuilt to include VIP seats and space for the players and press.

After completion of the European Championship tournament, an athletics track will be added to the stadium to increase its functionality as a sports arena.

Design and structure of the stadium’s roof

The membrane roof is a cable support structure. It includes two outer steel pressure ring cables, an inner tension ring and upper and lower ring cables. It is made of 80 individual panels and includes air supports.

There are 640 high points or knots on the roof with domes of light. The knots were built using cables and flying masts.

Various concepts were examined to install the roof. The final concept chosen included pre-assembling the ring cables on the ground, lifting them to the upper pressure ring and pre-tensioning the lower cables. All the upper radial cables had to be lifted equally to ensure that the there was no pressure on the cable support structure.

The translucent nature of the roof enables high light transmission, with plenty of sunlight able to enter the stadium. The roof is illuminated by 640 fluorescent and HID luminaries. The lighting is controlled by a Digital Addressable Lighting Interface.

Facilities at the Kiev Olympic Stadium

The stadium includes two tiers of stands divided into 80 blocks. The pitch size of the stadium is 105mx68m. Athletic facilities include eight 400m tracks and facilities for long jumping, javelin throwing and other games.

The stadium features 250m of LED screens to display match statistics. Two of the LED screens are the biggest in Ukraine.

Contractors involved with the Olimpijski National Sports Complex

The roof and façade design was carried out by schlaich bergermann und partner and Stuttgart – Knut Göppert. General contractors were Kyivmiskbud, AK Engineering, Master Profi Ukraine and Dnepropetrovsk.

The membrane roof of the stadium was supplied by Hightex. The contract included fabrication and installation of the roof.

KLOTZ supplied cables for the roof of the stadium. BEKA was contracted to supply the lighting equipment. Sound House Pro supplied and installed the audio systems.