Tsentralnyi Stadium

The ground at 78 Smlyanska Street sits as a block of concrete terraces, the kind of structure that has watched the city change its name three times.

The stands are divided by sections of yellow and grey, worn by decades of matches rather than recent refurbishment. In the background, behind the white and blue seating, the skyline is dominated by a tall, grey apartment block that looms over the roofline. This proximity to residential housing is not uncommon in eastern European cities, but here it defines the boundary of the ground. The concrete steps show the wear of thousands of visitors, some of whom climbed these tiers to witness the local team’s defeat by Dynamo Kyiv in 1957.

Inside, the pitch is maintained with care. The grass is lush and green, though the surrounding infrastructure tells a different story of budget constraints. The administrative building, which was doubled in size during the last major renovation in 2011, sits quietly beside the pitch. It is here that the team prepares, their sessions watched by the empty stands that hold just over ten thousand spectators. The stadium does not pretend to be a new arena; it is a relic that has weathered the storm of political transitions. From Kolkhoovyk to the Stadium named after the Komsomol, and finally to Tsentralnyi Stadium, the name changed, but the concrete remained. Today, under the banner of Cherkasy Arena, it remains the only ground in the city, a place where the past is visible in every crack of the pavement.