The "Bulgarian Army" stadium was opened with a ceremony before the match between CSKA and "Slavia". The event was held in front of a packed stadium and included a musical program, video greetings and demonstrations.
Among the guests were legendary football players Hristo Stoichkov, Stoycho Mladenov, Lyuboslav Penev, Dimitar Yakimov, Georgi Denev, Martin Petrov, Stiliyan Petrov and Hristo Yanev. Asparuh Nikodimov and Dimitar Berbatov joined in with video greetings.
The opening was also attended by famous representatives of other sports. Among them were CSKA wrestler Semen Novikov, who recently won the world title, as well as Kiril Milov, a bronze medalist in the world championship. Also at the stadium were basketball legend Petko Marinov, boxer Tervel Pulev and the president of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation Lyubomir Ganev.
The musical program included performances by DJ Kas, Kolyo Gilana and the band “Red Noise“. The culmination was the performance of the anthem “Red Hearts“ by Yordanka Hristova.
The Guards brass band also participated in the ceremony. Before the start of the match, “Great is our soldier“ was also played.
The stadium was presented as the newest in Bulgaria. Its opening preceded CSKA's first match against “Slavia“ of the renovated facility.