Bulgarska Armia
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Sector A of the old Bulgarska Armia ground — rows of seats and the concrete canopy above them.

History

One patch of ground

The story of Bulgarska Armia, and what has happened here over the last century.

Nicksss93 · CC BY-SA 3.0

The names

  1. 1923–1944

    АС-23

    This is where AC-23 played. The pitch is the ancestor of everything that came after.

  2. 1944–1949

    Чавдар

    A short spell under a new name, in the years straight after the war.

  3. 1949–1990

    Народна армия

    The name several generations of supporters grew up with.

  4. 1990–today

    Българска армия

    Today’s name. The building changes; the name stays.

What happened here

  1. 1909

    The first football club

    In the “Pustinyata” locality in Borisova Gradina, “Futbol klub” — the first Bulgarian football club — is founded. At the time the spot is still on the edge of Sofia.

    Borisova Gradina, seen through the crowns of the trees.
    The park around it Miroslav.Nikolov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
  2. 1922

    The land is given “for all time”

    Sofia gives the locality to the AS-23 club. In 1930 work starts on the main building — offices, changing rooms, a gymnasium and a store — and a running track is laid around the pitch. On 3 August 1933 the club receives the deed.

    The notarial act for the AC-23 ground and its buildings — the document by which the site became a stadium.
    The notarial act for the ground unknown · Public domain · Commons
  3. 1938

    Drainage and a fence

    A new drainage system with over 1,700 metres of channels goes in. The track is rebuilt on a 25 cm stone base and concreted. A concrete wall goes up around the ground, topped with iron to a total of 2.5 metres.

  4. 1940

    Stands all the way round

    The standing places go and the pitch is enclosed by stands for 18,000. Almost the whole build is paid for by AS-23 supporters — the state contributes very little.

  5. 1944

    Chavdar Stadium

    After AS-23, Shipka-Pobeda and Spartak (Poduene) merge, the ground is renamed Chavdar. It is nationalised on 19 March 1948, and 13 rows of wooden benches are added to the stands.

  6. 1965

    Construction begins

    The ground is almost entirely demolished. To a design by architects Anton Karavelov and Simeon Ivanov, new stands go up along with a concrete canopy over sector A.

    The concrete canopy over sector A, which stood until 2024, is already there on the drawing.

    Architectural drawing of Narodna Armia Stadium from Anton Karavelov’s 1963–64 design — the stands and roof seen from the side.
    The design, 1963 Inot · CC0 · Commons
  7. 1967

    Opening

    The ground takes the name Narodna Armia, with a capacity of 32,000. It belongs to the Ministry of National Defence.

  8. 1982

    Major rebuild and floodlights

    Rebuilt and fitted with electric floodlights — from here on, football at night.

  9. 1998

    Benches become seats

    In the autumn the benches are replaced by seats. Capacity drops to 22,015 and stays there to the end.

  10. 2023

    The new stadium is unveiled

    On 15 February CSKA and the state set up “Sportni Imoti Balgarska Armia” AD on equal shares. The state contributes the ground and the Pancharevo base; the club puts in 28,498,000 leva in cash.

  11. 2023

    The last match at the old ground

    On 10 December CSKA lost 0:1 to Ludogorets in front of about 18,000 people — the last official match at Bulgarska Armia before the ground came down.

  12. 2024

    The old stadium comes down

    Demolition starts on 1 April and takes four months — exactly as announced. The contractor is Roster.

    The old Bulgarska Armia ground in 2017 — stands of red seats, open to the sky.
    2017 Wiöldcard · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
  13. 2025

    Construction starts

    Glavbolgarstroy Holding AD begins excavation. The structure is given 18 months.

  14. 2026

    Pitch laid, structure nearing completion

    The turf goes down in spring. By mid-year the club says the pitch is match-ready.

    Seats in sector G: rows of red tip-ups with railings between them, the roof structure and a screen overhead.
    The seats in sector G
  15. 2026

    The stadium receives its permit (Akt 16)

    On 9 September DNSK issues occupancy permit No. DNSK26-RP-544 — the new Bulgarska Armia is officially commissioned for use, nearly two and a half years after the last match at the old ground. The club aims to return home after the October break, with the Conference League home match against Monaco on 15 October.

    Occupancy permit No. DNSK26-RP-544 of 9 September 2026, issued by the Directorate for National Construction Control — the document that commissioned the reconstruction of Bulgarska Armia for use.
    The occupancy permit, 9 September 2026

The nights nobody forgets

Three times CSKA knocked out a reigning or former champion of Europe. Twice they reached a semi-final.

  1. 1966/67 Inter semi-final
  2. 1973/74 Ajax first round
  3. 1980/81 Nottingham Forest first round
  4. 1981/82 Liverpool quarter-final
  5. 1981/82 Bayern Munich semi-final

The five nights

The old ground

This is what it was until 2024.

  • A Sector A 6 417
  • B Sector B 4 889
  • V Sector V 5 689
  • G Sector G 5 020

Total 22 015

Sources: stadium.cska.bg; Wikipedia; FCCSKA.com; Sredets district

See the old and the new side by side

The Walk of Fame, outside the gate

The Walk of Fame lies outside the ground, in Borisova Gradina. Each star carries a plaque with a name, a Games and an event. What is written here was read off the plaques themselves, from Biser Todorov’s photographs on Wikimedia Commons, rather than copied from elsewhere.

  • The plaque for Nikola Stanchev — Melbourne 1956, Wrestling, freestyle, 79 kg.

    Melbourne 1956

    Nikola Stanchev

    Wrestling, freestyle, 79 kg

    The first Olympic gold medal for Bulgaria.

  • The plaque for Andon Nikolov — Munich 1972, Weightlifting, 90 kg.

    Munich 1972

    Andon Nikolov

    Weightlifting, 90 kg

  • Montreal 1976

    Zdravka Yordanova and Svetla Otsetova

    Rowing, double sculls

    Their star is on the walk; we have not photographed it yet.

  • The plaque for Petar Lesov — Moscow 1980, Boxing, 51 kg.

    Moscow 1980

    Petar Lesov

    Boxing, 51 kg

  • The plaque for Hristo Markov — Seoul 1988, Athletics, triple jump.

    Seoul 1988

    Hristo Markov

    Athletics, triple jump

  • The plaque for Tanya Bogomilova — Seoul 1988, Swimming, 100 m breaststroke.

    Seoul 1988

    Tanya Bogomilova

    Swimming, 100 m breaststroke

  • The plaque for Maria Grozdeva — Sydney 2000 · Athens 2004, Shooting, pistol.

    Sydney 2000 · Athens 2004

    Maria Grozdeva

    Shooting, pistol

Source: The plaques themselves, photographed for Wikimedia Commons · photographs Biser Todorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped by us to the plaques.