Two stands that were due for completion in February and then late June are finally finished. Once all delivery procedures are done, contractor should begin demolition of remaining stands and rebuilding them to match the new ones.

Started in mid-2010, reconstruction of Bialystok’s municipal stadium has been marred with problems. First the French contractor Eiffage had their contract terminated due to delays and flaws on site.

Then a joint venture of OHL (Spain) and Hydrobudowa (Poland) was to take over in 2012, when suddenly the latter company collapsed and went bust. This caused some logistical problems for OHL, who decided to work on the project themselves.

First two stands of the stadium (phase 1, signaled red in the rendering) were due for delivery in late February this year, but after the trouble with Hydrobudowa’s insolvency the Bialystok municipality agreed to prolong the contract, awaiting delivery by July 1.

When that didn’t happen, fines began growing on OHL, who only today declared the stadium ready for use. Now the new part of the ground requires safety evaluation and should the procedures go as expected, it may take first fans in late August, when local Ekstraklasa team Jagiellonia are to play their home opener of the season. The club previously managed to change their fixtures with the league governing body to play first four matchdays away.

When Jagiellonia move to the new stands, phase two is set to begin with demolition of the old stadium’s remaining part. Initially planned for 2014, the complete reconstruction may not end by 2015, when the new 22,500-seater will become the largest of north-eastern Podlachia region.