Officially inaugurated in October 2017, Ion Oblemenco Stadium in the Romanian city of Craiova is the country’s most modern football arena at a capacity of over 30,000 seats. The futuristic stadium, inspired by the art of Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, was built from the ground up over the course of two-and-a-half years at a total cost of EUR 51 million. It is home to football club CS Universitatea Craiova and was ranked fourth on the Stadium DB website’s list for Stadium of the Year 2017.

The high-profile project was built with a clear goal: Hosting international and premium league matches not only in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, but also in the city on the river Jiu. For this reason, the municipality of Craiova required a stadium security solution on par with stringent guidelines — according to the year 2020 European football championship standards — to guarantee safety during mass events.

Looking for a trusted vendor with sports stadium experience, plus the ability to deliver the majority of necessary equipment as a single point of contact, Craiova officials opted for Bosch. Working closely with the onsite team, Bosch experts installed a fire and safety solution composed of four fire panels and 1,500 detectors. The stadium also received a quality sound system with Electro Voice Pro Sound speakers for music and commentary, Dynacord Promatrix for evacuation, Bosch loudspeakers for interior sound, as well as a conference and interpretation system for the pressroom.

However, the real “kicker” of the football stadium installation is the comprehensive video security solution: Ion Oblemenco Stadium boasts a fully integrated Bosch video security system, including 211 cameras centrally managed on a single platform through an enterprise edition of the Bosch Video Management System (BVMS).

The networked cameras serve a wide range of functions at entry and exit points and areas surrounding the stadium. On the perimeter, 115 robust DINION IP bullet 5000 cameras watch central avenues leading to the stadium, while 86 discrete FLEXIDOME IP 5000 cameras monitor visitors. For added security, eight AUTODOME IP 7000 cameras — two on the stadium outside, six inside — safeguard the surroundings with on-board intelligent video analytics (IVA). IVA allows for “smart” video surveillance functions. For instance, intelligent tracking automatically tracks moving objects based on predefined alarm rules. Besides automatic tracking of objects of interest once certain predefine rules, like loitering, security operators in Craiova can also manually track groups of football fans or follow specific individuals.    

Video streams of all 211 cameras are monitored in a central security room, manned by operator personnel and members of Romania’s police during matches. Video data is safely stored on two Bosch DIVAR IP 7000 network video recording units with a total of 256 Terabyte storage capacity. The recorders feature video recording manager (VRM) software to increase reliability and reduce storage volumes and costs, by automatically balancing the video stream load to the free available storage devices. Also the recording units support forensic search, enabling security operators to quickly retrieve the relevant video data from hours of stored video to deliver irrefutable evidence.

Craiova officials are satisfied with the easy-to-use and cost-efficient solution. Because Bosch products fulfilled international guidelines, the stadium is now fully certified to host matches of the First Romanian Football League, European league matches, Champions League and national team matches. As the first stadium in Romania constructed in line with guidelines for the 2020 European football championship series, Ion Oblemenco Stadium serves as a model for future stadium projects planned to be built for the 2020 tournament and beyond.