Euro 2012: Inside the Arenas

If you could actually be watching Euro 2012 in person, what would it look like? If you could trade in your living room sofa and television for a seat at one of the games, to watch it live, what would you see? Before the players even take the field, the first thing you would notice is how impressive the stadiums are. Here's what you need to know about the arenas in Poland and Ukraine.

Arenas in Poland:

National Stadium (Warsaw)
This stadium, in the country's capital, holds 58,145 people. It opened in February of this year.

City Stadium (Poznan)
After officials spent approximately $160 million on its redevelopment, the stadium can hold over 43,000 soccer fans. This is a huge increase from its original capacity of 27,000.

PGE Arena (Gdansk)
Seating an estimated 40,000 spectators, this arena was made specifically for the 2012 European Championship. In fact, the stadium is named for the Polish Engergy Group, which spent $8.5 million on its construction.

Municipal Stadium (Wroclaw)
This stadium -- the fourth largest in the country -- officially opened on September 10, 2011. It took an estimated 2.5 years to build it. Now that it's completed, it can hold 42,771 people.

Arenas in Ukraine:

Donbass Arena (Donetsk)
With the capacity for approximately 51,504 people, this oval-shaped stadium looks like a flying saucer. The company that designed the space, ArupSport, must have a penchant for plans that resemble objects because they also designed a birds-nest-shaped stadium in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.

Oblast Sports Complex -- Metalist (Kharkiv)
With a shopping mall and business center inside, this stadium's most recent rennovations -- specifically for the 2012 European Football Championships -- are noticeable. It has a capacity of 38,633.

Olympic National Sports Complex (Kiev)
Located in the national capital of Ukraine, this stadium holds 70,050 people -- making it one of the largest stadiums in the world. Conservative estimates for the cost of the stadium start at $500 million.

Arena Lviv (Lviv)
October 29, 2011 marked the opening ceremony for this stadium, which can hold 34,915 people. Concert halls, restaurants, training centers, and VIP clubs are all located inside the space.