Plagued by delays, the new stadium Tumbe Kafe is finally just a few steps away from getting its new north stand. Additional funding was allocated for seating by the city council.

It was supposed to be delivered in 17 months and that deadline passed on May 18… of 2018! And yet the new north grandstand of Stadion pod Tumbe Kafe isn’t fully delivered. The raw structure is ready and covered but masonry and installation works remain to be delivered.

The city council of Bitola decided this week to allocated further 22 million dinars (€360,000) for the installation of seats. According to recent information, there will be 5,000 seats mounted instead of initial detailed number of 4,764.

Social campaigners from Сакаме Стадион welcomed the decision with joy, hoping enough will be done to make the grandstand operational. At the same time they urged local authorities to no longer tolerate horrendous delays in delivery, with deadlines being missed one after another.

Initial contract for the grandstand dates back to 2016 and the grandstand was valued at €5.4 million. At this moment we have no detailed information as to how much money over that level was spent.

While the new stand is a welcome addition, the stadium still needs a new floodlighting system, which was promised along with new sections. Also, two more grandstands on both ends were initially promised, yet to be contracted.

Author: MK