Oțelul Stadium (Stadionul Oțelul) is a football stadium in Galați and the home ground of SC Oțelul Galați. Opened in 1982 in the Țiglina III district, it has a capacity of about 13,500 spectators.
Oțelul was founded in 1964 as the football team of the newly developing Galați steelworks, beginning in the lower divisions before reaching the second tier by the end of the decade. Repeated reorganizations of football in the city disrupted the club during the 1970s, but Oțelul was re-established in 1976 under the steel industry and began climbing the league system again. A permanent stadium of its own followed soon afterward.
Construction began in 1979 under club president Puiu Vasilache, with more than 10,000 workers from the steelworks taking part in the project. The completed stadium opened on March 30, 1982 with a friendly against Rapid București and initially held around 16,000 spectators on benches. Conversion to individual seating later reduced the capacity to approximately 13,500.
Oțelul reached Romania’s top division for the first time in 1986 and finished fourth only two seasons later, earning a place in the UEFA Cup. In 1988 the club recorded one of its best-known European results by defeating Juventus 1-0 in Galați, although that match was played at the larger Stadionul Dunărea. Further European appearances followed, including an Intertoto Cup success in 2007, while the club also reached the Romanian Cup final in 2004.
The stadium’s defining season came in 2010-11, when Oțelul won the Romanian championship for the first time after a 2-1 home victory over FC Timișoara in the penultimate round. Oțelul then won the Romanian Super Cup and entered the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League group stage, facing Manchester United, Benfica and Basel.
