Page 73 - Sajo ENG

1932–1934

DEBRECEN STADIUM

Nagyerdei Boulevard

“I had studied issues relating to stadiums for many years, and when I returned to
my hometown from America, I suggested building the first Hungarian stadium
based on plans I’d made years before,” ,” said István Sajó in the Illustrated Great
Calendar of Debreczen. His idea of a complex sports facility was immediately
welcomed by Mayor István Vásáry. Sajó designed the stadium for free and then
oversaw the construction works. The edifice, together with standing places,
accommodates some twenty thousand spectators. The wooden seats were built
in one part of the earthen steps, while the standing places were allocated to the
arched sections between the gates and the ‘promenades’. The low construction
cost of the stadium was made possible by the fact that the entire pitch was
lowered by 1.7 metres and the earth excavated during this operation was used to
build the section with eight tiers of steps around it. The earthmoving was carried
out by unemployed people doing community work, who, in compliance with the
designer’s wishes, left the larger trees untouched and built around them.

A clinker brick pylon, modelled on Stockholm’s Olympic Gate, stood at each of
the two shorter ends of the north-south oriented stadium. The northern main
gate, dubbed the Marathon Gate, still stands today. When Sajó designed the
grandstand with an iron framework for the western side, he made it suitable
for future expansion. Several modern amenities were subsequently installed in
the stadium’s changing rooms, such as central heating and hot water, as well as
lighting fixtures and lockers.

The inauguration gala of Hungary’s first stadium was held as part of the national
“Festive Week” of 1934.

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