Szusza Ferenc Stadion

Szusza Ferenc Stadion (formerly known as Megyeri uti Stadion or simply Megyeri ut) is a football stadium in Ujpest and the home of Ujpest FC. The stadium was designed by Alfred Hajos and opened on 17 September 1922. The stadium was renovated in 2000-01; its capacity is 14,817.

Since 2003 the stadium has been named after Ferenc Szusza, one of the best strikers in Hungarian football history.

History

After one year of construction the stadium was opened on 17 September 1922, with the match Ujpest v Ferencvaros 2-1. From June 1925 to June 1929 a bicycle track was running around the ground allowing it to be used as a velodrome. Since the track was occupying some parts of the stands, the capacity was reduced to 15,000 people.

A flood in 1945 destroyed the stands but after the renovations in 1946 the Megyeri uti Stadion became the largest stadium in Hungary with a capacity of 45,117 people. The stadium saw its first international game in 1948, Hungary beating Romania 9-0.

The main events of the World Festival of Youth and Students were also held in this stadium in 1949. In the mid-50s an athletic track was installed at the stadium reducing the capacity to 32,000.

Floodlights were installed in April 1968, and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final against Newcastle United was also held here in 1969. The 1972 and 2007 Hungarian Cup final matches were played in the stadium as well.

Until 2000 the only change made in the stadium was the renovation of the floodlight system in 1988. Between 2000 and 2001 the stadium was completely renovated. It was changed into an all-seater stadium, holding 13,501 people and completely roofed.

In 2003 the Megyeri uti Stadion was named Szusza Ferenc Stadion.

On 16 October 2016 Istvan Oze, director of the club, announced that reconstruction of the stadium would be finished by the end of October 2016. The capacity of the stadium was decreased from 13,501 to 12,670.