The stadium was built during the Soviet occupation of Estonia and was opened on 12 July 1955. It was the first new large-scale sports complex built in Tallinn after World War II. The initial plans were grandiose: the first blueprints saw the stadium have a 30,000 capacity seating area and a 16,000 capacity standing area, as well as a 6 meter tall statue depicting Estonian folklore hero Kalevipoeg.[3] However, the project was later scaled-down and saw the stadium have a capacity of 12,000.
Lev Yashin and Dynamo Moscow in their league match against Kalev, 1960Kalev 2-2 Spartak Moscow, 1961
The record attendance of 21,100 was set in friendly match between Tallinna Dünamo and Swedish third tier club Stockholm IK Sture in 1956. It was the first time since the country's occupation when an Estonian football club was able to face a foreign opponent coming outside of the Soviet Union.[4][5]
In 1960, Tallinna Kalev joined the Soviet Top League and in the following two years, the stadium hosted numerous high-profile football matches. The match against Dynamo Moscow on 5 August 1960 brought around 20,000 people onto the stands and among the players playing was Dynamo's Lev Yashin, who along with a number of his teammates had been crowned European champions less than a month before and who won the Ballon d'Or three years after said match, while being widely regarded as the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the sport.[6]
21st Century
The 2000s saw the stadium's condition worsen to the point that in 2007, the Estonian FA declared the grass pitch unusable for top-flight football.[7] In 2015, it was announced that Kalevi Keskstaadion will undergo a major renovation and the concept design also included a possibility to increase the capacity to 30,000 in the distant future.[8][9] The renovation works began after the 2019 Estonian Dance Festival and the stadium was re-opened in 2022.[10]
Artificial turf stadium
The sports complex of the Kalevi Keskstaadion also has an artificial turf ground named Kalevi kunstmurustaadion. Located at the southwest corner of the main stadium, the field is home to Kalev's youth teams.
Gallery
Kalevi Keskstaadion in the 1950s
Kalevi Keskstaadion in 2009
Stadium at its full capacity.
The stadium in 2019
The stadium (in the bottom left corner) in February 2009
The stadium in August 2023
Kalevi Keskstaadion after renovation works in August 2022
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