My visit to what was then the Skopje City Stadium came in the summer of 2007 on the eve of a concert appearance by the Turkish pop star Tarkan of “Kiss Kiss” fame. Macedonia was the last stop for me after a jaunt by train and bus across the Balkans through Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria.
After the most recent renovations–and a name change to Philip II Stadium–the old Gradski Stadion has been transformed into a state of the art stadium with a capacity of 33,460. I was able to catch a random game during my visit–I still don’t know who was playing, but I assume it was a youth tournament since it was early June. It is interesting posting these pictures seven years later and watching the advent of Industrial football through major stadium projects in small cities like Skopje. I hope you enjoy the pictures below, and to get more of your Macedonian football fix please check out http://www.macedonianfootball.com which has some nice insights into the game in Macedonia:
The stadium rises out of Skopje’s park:
Macedonia’s National Stadium:
The Green Hills of the Southern Balkans Roll On In the Distance:
A Handful of Specators:
This Stand has since been rebuilt–bad news for the tenants of those soon-to-be-built apartments who could have caught some football from the windows:
Vardar Fans Leave Their Mark:
A Steep Slope:
Its a precipitous climb at the Gradski Stadion:
A Little Closer to the Action:
