First nods went into the frozen ground at what used to be Lublin’s sugar factory and will be the city’s largest football stadium. Municipality took this opportunity to publish updated renderings.

Without much publicity Lublin officials met yesterday with representatives of the general contractor Budimex and future tenant football club Motor Lublin (3^rd tier) to inaugurate construction works at Krochmalna St.

This is where a sugar factory used to stand, but after demolition the land became a tempting asset and was bought by Lublin authorities. It’s just across the park from city’s current largest stadium, at Zygmuntowskie Ave.

At the moment only preparatory works will be carried out with piles waiting to go underground to strengthen the venue’s basis. These works should be done by mid-February with complete skeleton of the 15,500-seat stadium (updated renderings in the link) said to be ready by the end of 2013.

Perhaps this is why authorities weren’t advertising their Friday ceremony too much – the stadium is far behind earlier predictions, will be ready several months later than expected. Initial predictions said the ground might even be operable in late 2013 or early 2014. Meanwhile now opening game is said to take place in August 2014.

The project is worth PLN 136 million (or €33.5m / $44m), half of which is provided by one of European Union’s programs.