Tengiz Burjanadze

The reason lies in 2017, when the arena was rebuilt to meet UEFA requirements before the Under-19 European Championship. The work cost around 1,350,000 lari, roughly 450,000 euros, and it was the installation of individual plastic seats that pulled the capacity down to its present figure. Floodlights went in at the same time — 2,000 W units from the Italian maker Fael Luce, running Philips metal-halide lamps — so evening kick-offs became possible. The ground came out of it with a UEFA category 2 rating, which is what allows it to host European club and youth fixtures at all.

The tournament arrived that summer. Georgia met Portugal here in the group stage on 2 July, and they came back to the same pitch on 15 July for the final, where England beat them 2–1 and won the competition for the first time. The senior national side has used the ground since — Cyprus beaten 1–0 on 10 November 2017, Uzbekistan by the same score on 15 November 2021 — and the Under-21s and Under-19s play here regularly.

Day to day it belongs to Dila Gori , whose website carries the contact details because the stadium keeps none of its own. The rebuild left the shape of the place alone: one covered stand, one open to the weather, as it was before.