After Bucharest, Cluj, Craiova and recently Timisoara now another city is announcing ambitious plans of building a large stadium. With 40,000 capacity, the new Iași venue would be second-largest in Romania.

As more structural funds are being made available to Romania from the European Union, several major cities are announcing plans to use them in attempt to revamp their sporting infrastructure. Iași mayor Gheorghe Nichita announced plans to build a 40,000-capacity stadium, centerpiece of a larger sports complex. It’s also expected to include a 10,000-capacity indoor arena and a 4,000 tennis court.

“Iași and Moldova need a project like that. Cluj have their European-level stadium, Craiova are building theirs, we need it too” Nichita said to BZI.ro. His words refer to all other large cities in Romania either having or planning brand new stadiums.

The new complex is planned for Moara de Vânt, a northern district away from the current municipal stadium. The project is already included as the largest one in Iași’s planning strategy for 2014-2020. The city plans to spend €54 million, hoping for EU support to deliver the sports precinct.

After announcement, the plans were met with various reactions. While some media are overwhelmingly enthusiastic, others (mostly local) seem sceptic over the potential to build and sustain a complex of that size. Those fears find support in current demand for tickets. The city have one club in Romanian top tier, but currently Studenţesc averages at over 3,500 people per game, hardly enough to think of filling the new stadium even half-way.