Lilleküla Stadium

History

Construction and opening

The matter of building a national football stadium rose to Estonia's agenda in the second half of the 1990s, when it became evident that Kadriorg Stadium was not able to continue complying with international football standards. The stadium project was led by FC Flora and in July 1998, the club submitted a planning application to Tallinn City Council, requesting permission to build a new stadium on wasteland between railway lines in Kitseküla, close to the border with neighbouring Lilleküla. Receiving the council's approval, Flora signed a 99-year lease on the estate and construction began in October 2000. The stadium was designed by Estonian architect Haldo Oravas.

The construction of the Lilleküla Stadium was seen as a grand race against time, as the stadium had to be completed by June 2001 in order to avoid Estonia having to play its World Cup qualification home matches either in Finland or Latvia. The media covered the state of the construction almost daily and the stadium received its permit on the day of Estonia's World Cup qualifying match against the Netherlands, with final seats being installed only hours before the kick-off.

The stadium was officially opened on 2 June 2001, with a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification match between Estonia and the Netherlands. The match saw Estonia's Andres Oper become the first player to score at the new stadium when he scored in the 65th minute, with the full-time result being a 4–2 victory for the Netherlands.[[File:Samba boys kick off the match in Tallinn.jpg|left|thumb|Lilleküla Stadium during Estonia [[Exhibition match|friendly]] against [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] in 2009]]

In January 2002, A. Le Coq bought the naming rights of the stadium. During the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, the stadium hosted six out of 15 tournament matches, including the final, which saw Spain defeat Greece 1–0.

In 2012, Flora completed the transfer ownership of the Lilleküla Football Complex, including Lilleküla Stadium, to the Estonian Football Association. The deal was later revealed to have been worth over €12 million.

Expansion and UEFA Super Cup

In September 2016, it was announced that the stadium would host the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. In preparation for the match, the stadium's capacity was increased from 10,340 to 14,336, with the total expansion cost of around €7 million. The 2018 UEFA Super Cup match between the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid and the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League winners Atlético Madrid was held on 15 August 2018, with Atlético Madrid winning 4–2 in extra time.

Lilleküla Football Complex

Lilleküla Stadium is part of the Lilleküla Football Complex, which also includes two grass surface pitches, two artificial turf pitches of which one is the 1,198-seat Sportland Arena, and an indoor football hall named EJL Jalgpallihall.

Concerts

Aside from football and other sporting events, several concerts have been held at Lilleküla Stadium. Lenny Kravitz performed in 2005 and Aerosmith in 2007. In 2023, the stadium hosted the concert of NOËP and in 2024, the concert of Max Korzh.

Attendances

!Tenants!!League season!!Home games!!Average attendance |- | FC Flora || 2024 || 18 || 694 |- | FCI Levadia Tallinn || 2024 || 18 || 713 |- | FC Flora || 2023 || 18 || 518 |- | FCI Levadia Tallinn || 2023 || 18 || 763 |- | FC Flora || 2022 || 18 || 509 |- | FCI Levadia Tallinn || 2022 || 18 || 489 |- |} }}

Gallery

File:A. Le Coq Arena - Lilleküla staadion.jpg|A. Le Coq Arena during December 2021 File:A. Le Coq Arena hosting Real Madrid - Atlético Madrid UEFA Super Cup final • Tallinn, Estonia (2).jpg|Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid at A. Le Coq Arena File:Alecoq vs frankfurt eintracht.png|The stadium before Flora vs. Eintracht Frankfurt

References

References

1. "A. Le Coq Arena". Estonian Football Association.
2. "A. Le Coq Arena staadion". Eesti spordiregister.
3. (25 July 1998). "Prügimäest saab staadion". Postimees.
4. (19 October 2000). "FC Flora rajab Lillekülasse jalgpallistaadioni". Eesti Päevaleht.
5. Schwede, Indrek. (10 October 2019). "RETRO! Kuidas valmis Lilleküla staadion? Jüri Mõis: "Armee ja jalgpall on riigile võrdse tähtsusega."".
6. (26 October 2021). "Kustutatud laenud, tasumata intressid ja 12 miljonit sulas: saladokumendid paljastavad, kuidas Aivar Pohlak jalgpalliliidu rahaga FC Florat päästis".
7. (2016-09-16). "Final of 2018 UEFA Super Cup to take place in Tallinn".
8. (8 August 2017). "Tallinn to stage 2018 UEFA Super Cup". [[UEFA]].
9. (13 August 2018). "VIDEO I Ligi 7 miljonit eurot hiljem: jalgpalli tippsündmuseks valmistuv Lilleküla staadion on võimsa uuenduskuuri läbinud".
10. (16 August 2018). "Atlético win UEFA Super Cup in extra time". [[UEFA]].
11. "Estonian attendances".