Young managers of Donbass Arena have paid a working visit to one of the Europe's most renowned stadiums - Amsterdam Arena, which is a home pitch of AFC Ajax.

The visit was part of the training and experience sharing programme targeted to implement the most successful practices at Donbass Arena. The point is that Amsterdam Arena is a classic example of a multi-purpose stadium, which along with football matches holds over 90 various events a year - from pop-stars concerts to corporate events.

Donetsk delegation included 14 managers of the new stadium in the key working areas – from technical director to cleaning service manager. Over three days Donbass Arena team was supposed to research activity areas and expertise of the European arena, participate in a pre-game arrangements at Amsterdam Arena, analyze what they had seen and make conclusions to be applied at Donetsk stadium.

Day One

The delegation was met by Henk Markerink, CEO of Amsterdam Arena. He shared his 12-year experience in management of multi-purpose stadium, spoke about successful solutions, as well as challenges they had faced and conclusions they had made. For example, the covering roof of the stadium was intended for concerts only, while the games were supposed to take place in an open pitch. However, AFC Ajax insisted on the roof to be used on rainy days. They had to replace the existing mechanisms with those, which are more resistant to frequent use and which could also cut the time of roof closing from 45 to 15 minutes, as well as make the process less noisy.

Then, each manager of Donbass Arena would be consulted by specialists in an appropriate area during three days. All managing staff of Amsterdam Arena participated in the work with Donetsk "commission". The guests visited every corner of the stadium including AFC Ajax museum, technical premises and the control room – the heart of the arena. Questions came vying with each other both practical like "How does it work here?" and theoretical like "What will you do, if it were like that?"


They talked until late at night. Besides, Donbass Arena team gathered for an internal discussion late in the evening to share conclusions and discuss the solutions, as it is a huge responsibility to manage Donetsk Diamond and you can't miss a single detail.


Interestingly that from the moment it was launched in 1996, Amsterdam Arena has run non-cash payment system, ie chip cards, which you can buy and top up right at the stadium. When asked how locals responded to the introduction of such system, Mr Markerink said that the advantages of the system had been highly appraised even by the fans of older generation.

Meanwhile, many technologies, which will operate at Donbass Arena from the day of the stadium’s launch, are only to be installed at Amsterdam Arena. Such systems include: Client Relationship Management -CRM, Smart Stadium management control system and many others. Director of Donbass Arena, Oleksandr Atamanenko immediately proposed that Amsterdam Arena make a payback training visit to Donetsk. "You will have something to learn from us too!" he said proudly.

Day Two

During the second day of visit, Donbass Arena team helped prepare Ajax-Fiorentina match held at Amsterdam Arena. The most impressing scene was in the bowl. All Ajax fans initiated a singing stadium show, as they sang AFC Ajax anthem all together, waving flags and swaying to the rhythm, which was a way to greet their team and help them set for the game.

But Donbass Arena supports Shakhtar team! Red and white coloured stadium supporting AFC Ajax found some place for orange and black FC Shakhtar fans, who would agree neither to take off FC Shakhtar symbols nor miss the broadcasting of Tottenham-Shakhtar game. Some Ajax fans recognized the logo of Donetsk team and gladly greeted Donetsk guests. Soon the full team of Donbass Arena joined the millions of Shakhtar fans and shouted just like Ajax fans, even though our guest team watched Shakhtar game on TV in a small room under the stands of roaring Dutch stadium.

Day Three

Getting familiar with the operation of the stadium's services on match-days, observations, questions and, of course, a closing lunch and a photo to memorize the event. Thank you, Amsterdam Arena!

Anatoliy Polkovnikov, head of catering department at Donbass Arena: "Good meals for fans and guests of the stadium are very important, as they help generate positive emotions. It is paramount that each guest could enjoy a high level of service and quality food. Meals at Amsterdam Arena are provided by a partner-caterer. Donbass Arena will run its own catering service. We will analyse preferences of our customers to offer them the most sought-after and high-quality products”.

Sergei Burgela, head of Donbass Arena security service: “On match-days Amsterdam Arena employs stewards and security guards in premises, in the bowl and even in the most bustling areas of the stadium. The police ensures safety of the stadium's external perimeter. We intend to introduce the same "friendly security" system at Donbass Arena.



Press Office
Donbass Arena

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