Poland: Major club waits years for stadium and fights government

source: StadiumDB.com; author: Paulina Skóra

Poland: Major club waits years for stadium and fights government At the end of October, the mayor of Chorzów, Szymon Michałek, announced that he would visit the Ministry of Sport and Tourism on November 6th to discuss a new stadium for Ruch Chorzów. However, as it turned out, the meeting did not take place. The mayor sent another letter.

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Sixth time’s the charm? The mayor remains hopeful.

Szymon Michałek went to the ministry accompanied by MEP Łukasz Kohut, but the meeting still did not occur. For now, it has been postponed without a new date. I am still eagerly waiting for the appointment and the meeting at the ministry, he told Dziennik Zachodni. However, the mayor is not sitting idle and on November 12th, he published on social media a letter that he had sent to the Minister of Sport and Tourism, Sławomir Nitras, on the same day.

The mayor began by listing the dates of previous letters: July 3, 2024; July 12, 2024; September 3, 2024; September 4, 2024; October 10, 2024. In the rest of the letter, he pointed out the minister's sluggishness and disregard for the residents of Chorzów. I appeal on behalf of myself and the nearly one hundred thousand residents of Chorzów to take real action toward cooperation in building a municipal stadium in Chorzów and to provide feedback with a scheduled meeting date with you as a representative of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism.

Indeed, many people in Chorzów are looking forward to the developments on the new stadium, but some prefer enjoying online activities instead of focusing on sports. For this reason, they turn to Legalcasino in the UK, where experts evaluate websites, select the best ones, and thoroughly explain their services.

Szymon Michałek was also a guest on TVP3 Katowice, where he discussed the stadium project and the lack of communication from the ministry. I have the feeling that the Civic Platform does not want to build this stadium. But it has to be built. There’s no turning back. It will cost over 300 million PLN, he announced.

Design of Ruch Chorzów Stadium© GMT 

Former mayor criticizes Szymon Michałek’s idea

In the previous edition of the same program, Marek Kopel, a regional councilor and former mayor of Chorzów, appeared, criticizing the idea of building a second stadium in the city, calling it absurd. I wouldn't undertake the construction of a second stadium, especially since we already have the Stadion Śląski. Ruch Chorzów has one of the best sports venues in Poland at its disposal, he emphasized. According to him, the club should negotiate a 10- or even 15-year agreement with the Stadion Śląski and explain to the fans that building a second stadium is an economic absurdity that Chorzów cannot afford.

Marek Kopel was mayor of Chorzów for five terms. He admitted that it was only towards the end of his tenure that he proposed the construction of a new stadium, but in his view, this was in a different context when the financial side of the investment was already partially ready. Probably, if I had won, this stadium would have definitely been built, because it was very clearly planned how to approach it. The money had already been allocated in the multi-year forecast. During the election campaign, a tender for the project had already been announced. It was a simple stadium, with four covered stands in the English style, said Kopel.

Design of Ruch Chorzów Stadium© GMT 

The successor promised the stadium for 14 years

The next mayor, Andrzej Kotala, took office and, before the 2010 elections, promised that a new stadium for Ruch would be his priority. Fourteen years after the first promise, no shovel has been dug, and Ruch's fans have steadily lost hope and patience with the endless promises. The mayor who won the elections at that time, together with the fans, decided that the stadium should be bigger, better, and more expensive. And it ended as it ended. The new mayor now says it will be bigger and better than what his predecessor proposed. And so, history repeats itself, summed up Kopel.

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