Vul. Patona, 1 – sports complex

The complex began as a football field constructed for a factory team at the site of a pre-war plane repair workshop, then under reconstruction as a large factory (1940-50s) (Lemko, 360; Melnyk, 355). The field hosted football games of the local factory team. At the start of the 1960s as the factory became well-known and prosperous, it was reconstructed as a stadium with the addition of running tracks, grandstands, and locker rooms. It became the home of the Sokil football team, which quickly grew into one of the strongest teams in Lviv region. In 1967, it accomplished unprecedented success by winning the Cup of Millions - the most prestigious football competition among Soviet athletic clubs. The team was headed by Coach Leonid Moroz, and among its stars were Viktor Aslanyan, Valentyn Khodukin, Yevhen Khodukin, and Yuri Polyanski. Sokil held its leading positions into the 1980s. At that time, factory leadership threw its support into rugby instead. From then on, the stadium served as the home for the factory rugby team, also called Sokil, which soon was competing against the strongest teams of the Soviet Union. Prominent players on the team include Yuri Hrabovski, Yuri Yankovki, Viktor Sheremet, Oleksandr Kostrikov, Yaroslav Bobyk, and the brothers Ihor and Taras Dazky. At that time, players also frequented the gym and playing grounds adjacent to the football field. In 1989 the workers initiated the revival of factory football team. It was soon restored to its leading position in Lviv football, reaching advanced stages of the 1993 Ukrainian Football Championship. Currently, the Lviv FC holds the lease to the complex until 2019. The club had plans to re-construct the complex to render it suitable to host EURO 2012 games, but lack of resources undercut the project. The complex is currently in use by children and youth teams.