Ukraine
NSK Olimpiyskyi
NSK Olimpiyskyi is a sports facility in Kiev, located on the slopes of the city's central Cherepanov Hill. It is the premier sports venue of Ukraine.
The construction of a stadium in Kiev was considered as early as 1914, when the city was the empire's third most important city. The plans were abandoned in the Great War. In the following years the city saw much chaos and little order as the wars, revolutions, forces of different states and stateless bands occupied and fought in the city. Construction resumed under the leadership of engineer Pilvinsky in early 1923. Following the 1945 Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, not only was the stadium reconstructed, but tickets issued in 1941 were honored for admittance to an opening ceremony of the Stalin Respublikanskiy Stadium in 1948, as it was named. In 1968 the stadium was enlarged to accommodate 100 000 spectators with the addition of a second tier of seating.
After Ukrainian independence in 1991, the stadium was renamed again as NSK Olimpiyskyi. In 1999 the stadium was reconstructed again in accordance with FIFA guidelines, and its capacity reduced to 83 000. The stadium is currently used mostly for football matches of FC Arsenal Kyiv and the national team. International games of FC Dynamo Kyiv are also played at the national stadium.
