A special committee of the Belarussian government and city of Minsk is set to decide on the final design of the redevelopment of Dynama Stadium, the country’s national stadium.
Dismantling of the home of the Belarussian national team already started in December, but the designs for the new stadium have yet to be presented.
Earlier in the year a design competition was announced, in which about 20 national and international architecture firms are thought to have participated. While none of the designs have been officially released, local media Euroradio.fm claim to have found the “secret designs”.
The new stadium will have a capacity of about 40,000 seats and be for at least 80% covered following UEFA guidelines. The historic outer facade of the original stadium will be preserved – in a similar way as Dynamo Moscow’s proposed new stadium – , and the redevelopment is expected to cost €150 million.
That cost may turn out to be a problem for the local government, and it is therefore seeking additional funding from foreign investors. The project is expected to get combined with further development such as hotels.
The special committee will likely take a decision on the final design in the next few weeks, and building works are expected to last at least two years. It is yet unknown where the Belarussian national team will play their future home matches. BATE, who use the national stadium for their European matches, have also not made a decision yet where to play next year’s (potential) Champions League matches.
BATE themselves are also expected to embark on a redevelopment of their own stadium, the small 5,500-seater City Stadium. It is thought that their renovated stadium will resemble Maribor’s Stadion Ljudski Vrt.