Warsaw. Fatal conditions in Polonia. The club president writes a letter to the city authorities

The rebuilding Polonia Warsaw is close to qualifying for the Premier League. Despite his successes, he does not feel seriously treated by the city authorities. A letter signed by President Grégoire Nitot pointed out a series of serious and sometimes embarrassing problems that the club struggles with every day. Again, it was a proposal to take over the management of the facility at Konwiktorska 6.

During recent home matches, Polonia Warsaw fans display a banner hitting the president of the capital Rafał Trzaskowski. They remind you that the politician promised them a new arena. “There was supposed to be a stadium, great plans – again a cheated voter. Liar, a scammer, a Pozer, Farmazon and Hypocrite Trzaskowski” – you can read the sheet posted on the stone stand.

The club authorities also seem frustrated, which was expressed by the president of Grégoire Nitot in an open letter, whose addressees were the president of Warsaw, his deputy corresponding, among others for sport Renata Kaznowska, director of the Sports Office, director of active Warsaw and city councilors. In sharp, though parliamentary words, he alleged that for five years “he has been fighting unsuccessfully to improve the dramatic conditions at the stadium”, meeting only “with a wall of bureaucracy and indifference.”

“Conditions will defy all standards”

The stadium at Konwiktorska 6 does not belong to the club, it is owned by the city and is under the management of the Warsaw Sports Center Active Warsaw.

“The managers of the facility are unable to provide basic conditions for its normal use, condemning both professional players and over 500 children from the academy, to training in conditions that will obstruct all standards and in no way agree to the level of even unprofessional sport” – we read in the letter.

The President of Polonia writes that the first team can carry out only one or two training per week on the main pitch. That is why he trains at the RKS Marymont facility. However in the near future the renovation is to undergo, In which “one of two natural fields will be replaced by a playground with an artificial surface, and the other – for several months – will be completely out of use.”

In addition, black shirts for renting the main field pay “one of the highest rates in Warsaw” – a thousand zlotys per hour. “While in other locations the rates are even twice lower (e.g. Marymont 487 PLN/h, OSiR Bemowo 340 PLN/h, Ożarów 530 PLN/h, Rembertów 600 PLN/h)” – cites Nitot.

Crooked lines and wild animals

In addition, this expensive pitch is in poor condition, not only one person cares. “Holes in the pitch, lack of mowing and watering before training is the norm” – we read in the letter. “We often encounter the problem of very poor quality painting of the line in the game field. This is a problem that should not take place at the central level” – points out the president. He also writes about an insufficient fence through which wild boars (confirmed by appropriate photography) get through the album.

The president points out that the scoreboard at the stadium is unfounded, despite the fact that the fault was reported a few months ago. Even a neon with the name of Polonia on the front of the building does not display all letters, even though the cost of the repair would be symbolic.

In the cloakroom, stuffing and mushroom

It is even worse in the club building under the main tribune: “There is stuffy in the cloakroom of the first team, and mold and fungus – the effect of outdated and inefficient ventilation appears on the walls.

Nitot argues that “the club is forced to rent external offices because there is a lack of space at the stadium: for offices, social facilities, a fan store, a gym, sanitary facilities for fans or storage rooms.”

Next to them, they build an apartment building

The president also pays attention to an apartment building, which has grown right next to the stadium in recent months. At Konwiktorska they are sure that it is potentially a source of huge problems. Residents can be disturbed by both the noise flowing from the stadium and the side pitch (called Sahara), where classes for young people take place every day from morning to late evening.

“Already the very proximity of the building relative to the stadium and the side field raises serious doubts as to the legitimacy of issuing a permit for its construction. After completing this investment, obtaining a new permit – in the event of the current expiry – it can be significantly difficult due to the potential claims of residents related to the noise generated by the noise generated by events implemented on the facility and daily trainings” – notes Nitot.

The club wants to take over the stadium

That is why the club would like to take over the stadium management as soon as possible. He ensures that he has a “detailed stadium revitalization plan, secured funds and full readiness to immediately take over object management.” And he urges the city to let him act.

“After taking over the management of the stadium, the club undertakes to cover all the costs of functioning of the facility, maintaining preferential conditions for using the facility by schools and public institutions, as it was so far. The only form of city participation in the costs of the facility will be the annual, fixed fee, corresponding to the average loss that the object has generated in the last three years under the management of active Warsaw” – proposes Grégoire Nitot.

Public-private partnership

At the end of last year, the Vice President of Warsaw Renata Kaznowska announced that the stadium at Konwiktorska 6 obtained permission to modernize.

The new facility is to be built in the formula of public-private partnership (PPP). The plan assumes that the city will spend PLN 114 million, and the rest will be financed by a private partner. Then he will earn on managing the underground parking lot for over 700 places and a building of the Sports Support Center. The stadium and the hall would remain the city's responsibility.

Four entities are interested in participating in the undertaking: consortium: Acciona Concesions SL and Mostostal Warsaw; Strabag – project; Project Development 4 and Doraco construction corporation.

At what stage is the choice of a partner? – After a series of so -called Negotiation turns with participants of the procedure are currently underway to introduce the project to the long -term financial forecast – Monika Beuth, a spokeswoman for the town hall, said at the beginning of May.

Polonia Warsaw stadium on visualizations

The president wants a larger roof

As we reported at tvnwarszawa.pl, the club believes that the stadium according to the concept of the JSK architekci office in the competition will be unprofitable because it will not fulfill the function of the year -round arena. That is why the Polonia authorities propose “transforming a new object into a covered arena, with the option of a closed roof, which will ensure the possibility of organizing events throughout the year, regardless of the weather.” The pitch would have a synthetic turf (as in Scandinavia), more adequate to the weather conditions in Poland.

The proposed PPP model did not like the president of Nitot from the beginning. He presented three alternatives for the current model. The first is a modified PPP, in which the city accepts the club's conditions and establishes it with the only private partner. In the second variant, the city (or ministry) appoints a targeted company with the club, which implements the investment and is managed by the club. The preferred third option, in turn, is to transfer all rights related to the project and land to the club, then he would take on the construction and operation of the stadium.

Renata Kaznowska referred to the ideas of the President of Polonia. She argued that there were no legal opportunities to make Polonia Warsaw the only partner of the procedure. And the other two variants (targeted company and 100 % ownership of the club) were outlined too generally to refer to them.