Poznan will be the first of the four Polish Euro 2012 host-cities to have a stadium ready. The modernization is to be completed in June this year, and the stadium will be put into operation in the early fall. So far, the tender to select the facility operator has not been announced.

"We are in a different situation than Wroclaw or Gdansk where new stadiums are being built. For obvious reasons, they could not have operators before. In Poznan, the stadium is presently managed by Poznańskie Ośrodki Sportu i Rekreacji (POSiR), which took part in its modernization as early as at the design stage. So we cannot say that the Poznan-based facility has no operator and that one has to be appointed soon. Nevertheless, it is in the city’s interest to choose one no later than this year" – said deputy president of Euro Poznan 2012, Michał Prymas.

The city is considering various stadium management scenarios. It is quite unlikely for the football club Lech Poznan, one of the facility’s main prospective users, to become its operator.

"It is possible that a stadium operator company will be established with some shares held by the club. The city’s idea is for the operator to take over maximum management risk and to be responsible for revenues and costs related to stadium use. This is why we will rather be inclined to choose an external operator" – explained Prymas.

SOURCE: PAP
PHOTO: PL.2012