These are pictures of the old national stadium in Bucharest that was torn down over a year ago in order to build a new, retractable-roof stadium up to Western European standards. The old stadium used to house former communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's elaborate propaganda displays and several matches of the Romanian national fotbal (soccer) team. Romania is scheduled to host the European championships, and many other international games once the stadium is done. The mayor of Bucharest, Sorin Oprescu, would like Bucharest to bid for the summer olympics in 2020, or later. If you have ever seen the conditions of athletic facilities in Bucharest and around Romania, you would realize how ridiculous this effort is by mayor Oprescu. Any olympic bid would require arguably the most aggressive building and athletic facility overall of any other olympic city in history. (Another city likely to bid on the 2020 olympics: Minneapolis/St. Paul., MN. I think they have a real shot). Regardless, many Romanians are excited about the new stadium. It is actually across the street from where I live in Bucharest--so I'm sure match nights will be crazy. I only hope they will build adequate parking---a definite crisis in this buzzling metropolis!
Artist renditions of the new stadium
