National football stadium to be opened in 2009

In the presence of SFZ president František Laurinec, members of the Slovak government, representatives of the involved city districts, and officials of the three Bratislava clubs Artmedia, Inter, and Slovan, a memorandum was signed at the Primate’s Palace on the construction of the National Football Stadium at Tehelné pole. The upper limit of the anticipated expenses for the construction of the modern stadium, which is scheduled to open in the first half of 2009, is around three billion Slovak crowns. Preparatory and project works for the stadium, which will meet UEFA and FIFA four-star criteria (capacity 35,000 spectators), will begin in autumn 2006. Demolition and dismantling work, included in the planned expenses, is scheduled to kick off in spring 2007.

“Today we are concluding what has not been a short period of preparation for a fundamental change in the infrastructure of Slovak football, which we would like to begin with the construction of the National Stadium in Bratislava,” said president František Laurinec, who represented SFZ at the ceremony together with general secretary Dušan Tittel. “I said a fundamental change in the infrastructure of Slovak football because we believe this should launch a process of overall improvement for football. From the youngest pupils through amateur clubs to top professional clubs. So let the National Football Stadium be not only a source of pride but also the flagship of Slovak stadiums and Slovak football.” The investor in the construction of the National Stadium, with expected state support, will be a newly created joint-stock company of the three Bratislava clubs, with the city of Bratislava expected to become another shareholder. In addition to its visual originality, the planned National Stadium will be one of the few arenas where as many as three clubs from one city play their home league matches.

There are a few stadiums in the world where city rivals or clubs from the same city play. Mostly these are municipal stadiums, with operating costs also the responsibility of the municipality. As for the National Stadium in Bratislava, all three clubs – Artmedia, Inter, and Slovan – should play their matches there. “I believe that suitable dates will be found after agreement, but neither SFZ nor the signed memorandum on the construction of the stadium covers the issue of training grounds,” explained former international Tittel.

The need for a modern National Stadium has been pressing Slovak football for several years, but the construction of the new arena concerns not only the existence of Slovan Bratislava players, but especially the national team. From 2009, the Slovak national football team will be able to play qualification matches only in a stadium that meets strict UEFA and FIFA criteria. The team of Dušan Galis will therefore already play the spring (2007) home qualification matches for EURO 2008 outside Tehelné pole. The alternative should be Anton Malatinský Stadium in Trnava, which, however, in the recent friendly against Belgium (1:1) did not give much of a home impression.

“The National Football Stadium is truly the issue of the day. Until 2008, Slovakia has an exemption allowing us to play matches in the next qualification cycle also at stadiums that do not meet the strict UEFA and FIFA criteria. So, for us, it is truly a matter of survival to have by the end of 2008, at the latest the beginning of 2009, a National Football Stadium available that will meet the needs of our fans, our players, our sponsors, but will also represent Bratislava as the capital of a modern state, and of course Slovakia as a modern country within Europe,” remarked Laurinec.

According to him, the stadium should not only be built in a modern way but also operated in a modern way. “Today, stadiums are no longer built with surrounding training grounds that are used only for one or two matches at certain times. Today, stadiums must be built so they can be commercially used and earn money for their operation. A new stadium must provide visitors with absolute comfort and all the services that are either directly or indirectly connected with sport. And it is in this way that the design of our football arena has been conceived,” said the SFZ president.

The SFZ representatives make no secret of the fact that they are counting not only on help from the capital but also on state support. On July 14, the Slovak government will receive the SFZ proposal for cooperation and provision of subsidies, and in the autumn of this year an international tender will take place. “The Slovak government and SFZ demand a transparent and at the same time international tender. It is too early to talk about the number of projects, but we know what we want. We have observed especially stadiums in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, so I believe everything will turn out well,” Tittel noted in conclusion.

At Monday’s signing of the memorandum, also present were the mayor of the capital Bratislava, Andrej Ďurkovský, the mayor of Bratislava III, Richard Frimmel, chairman of the board of Artmedia Bratislava, Ivan Kmotrík, vice-chairman of the board of AŠK Inter, Ľubomír Chrenko, president of ŠK Slovan, Ľudovít Černák, as well as advisor to the Prime Minister Jozef Tokos, representative of the Ministry of Finance and simultaneously director of the Department of Budget Analysis Ján Marušinec, representative of the Ministry of Education and simultaneously general director of the section of state care for sport Stanislav Kosorín, and the head of the self-governing region Vladimír Bajan. Also present were Slovak football personalities such as the European champions from Belgrade 1976 Anton Ondruš and Dušan Galis, former internationals and coaches, as well as current players represented by Samuel Slovák and Branislav Fodrek.