Yerevan Vazgen Sargsyan stadium director: Grass slightly damaged after Jennifer Lopez concert

By Lusine Shahbazyan

The grass of the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium was slightly damaged after the concert of global pop star Jennifer Lopez. Ashot Barseghyan, the director of this stadium in Yerevan, said in an interview with NEWS.am Sport.

According to official data, 30,000 fans attended Sunday’s concert of Jennifer Lopez at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium. A significant part of the audience followed the concert from the fan zone which was built right in the center of the field, on the grass. During the concert, which lasted about two hours, fans danced on the grass and enjoyed the pop artist's first big concert in the Armenian capital. Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) president Armen Melikbekyan, vice president Armen Nikoghosyan, and specialists on Monday visited the stadium and got familiarized with the condition of the grass on site.

“After the concert, the grass of the stadium was slightly damaged, but everything is manageable, everything will be fine. There is no serious problem, whatever was damaged, our specialists will fix it, there will be no issue. I believe there will be no need to change the turf. The president, the vice president of the Football Federation of Armenia had arrived at the Republican Stadium, they looked [at it] with specialists, assessed the condition of the grass. After visiting the stadium, there was a discussion with specialists at the federation. The federation will say more precisely what condition the grass is in.

It is nature, it is grass, it will be restored, there will be no problems. We will see, we will do everything to restore [it]. Maybe, due to this situation, the federation will just postpone the Ararat game [i.e. the second leg of the third round of Ararat-Armenia’s UEFA Conference League qualifications]. No other problems will arise. The federation will answer this question more precisely, since I myself am not a specialist to assess the damage. The specialists have spoken, the FFA president, the vice president have come, assessed, and only they can answer clearly,” said Ashot Barseghyan.

On August 14, Ararat-Armenia will host—at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium—Sparta Praha (Czech Republic) in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.

And on September 6, Armenia will host—again at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium—Portugal in Group F of the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

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