The media announced that OFK Beograd will play host to the newly built stadium in Zaječar from next season, where despite the millions invested, not a single game has been played yet. The question arises again: are stadiums built according to plan or are they only found purpose after the sensational opening - and collecting political points? As well as what is the fate of the partially collapsed Youth Stadium
The anthem of the Champions League breaks through the packed Allianz Arena. The master, the best, the big teams, the champions... Bayern and Arsenal players line up on the field, their eyes filled with enthusiasm and determination. However, it is no small thing to fight for the semi-finals of the Champions League. While the adapted tones of Georg Friedrich Handel from 1727 reverberate through the capital of Bavaria - the Allianz Arena becomes the stage.
A little more than 90 minutes later, in front of the home crowd, Bayern manages to secure the semi-finals and schedule an epic meeting with Real Madrid. Under the spotlights of the same stadium, the guardian of countless trophies of the Bavarian club from the past decades. The best.
And while the stands of one of the most famous stadiums on the planet are preparing for the umpteenth time to host tens of thousands of fans eager for the sensations caused only by sports, 950 kilometers to the southeast another Allianz arena has been standing in the dark for months. Yes, Bayern's home has its namesake - in Serbia. It's just that he is far from the Munich attraction. The "Kraljevica" stadium in Zaječar, known by the nickname "Serbian Alliance Arena", is still waiting for the first football boots to step on it. And it is not without reason that it is said that the wait is worth it. Because it seems that "Kraljevica" will finally welcome a piece of the atmosphere that its German twin enjoys every week. Only a few more months of patience and empty stands, until OFK Belgrade plays at the newly built stadium in Zaječar.
OFK STADIUM UNCERTAIN TOMORROW
The "Serbian Alliance Arena" did not know its purpose until last week when the Sportklub portal announced that the new stadium in Zaječar will be the home of OFK Belgrade football players from the next season, a club where football was played in the first decades of the last century. After the media reported that the Belgrade club would play its home games 240 kilometers from Belgrade, OFK Beograd issued a statement stating that, indeed, due to the renovation of the stadium, it will temporarily move to another place. However, the new location and information about the duration of the transfer were missing from the announcement.
This is precisely why long-time sports journalist and editor-in-chief of the Kompas-info portal Vladimir Živanović tells "Vreme" that he worries that the decision to temporarily move the Belgrade club could turn into a permanent move.
"The previous administration of OFK Belgrade, before the sons of Zvezdan Terzić and Mitar Mrkela came, managed to get the land plot on which the stadium is located to be registered as sports, which means that no future residential buildings should be built there. However, since there is no renovation plan and no announced help from the city or the state - and the club cannot do it alone - I am afraid that this is the first step towards the permanent eviction of OFK Belgrade from the iconic stadium where they played before the Second World War football", says Živanović and adds that the decision to relocate is devastating not only for the club, but also for the entire Serbian football.
"I am sorry that the Football Association of Serbia does not advertise on this occasion and does not offer a solution. "I think that the plot of OFK Belgrade has already been sold by an investor, who is building some expensive and beautiful square meters with a view of the Danube," says Živanović.
And while it is an uncertain question what will happen to the plot on which the Youth Stadium has stood for decades and how long its long-awaited and much-needed renovation will last, another illogicality emerges from the story of the potential relocation of the Belgrade club to Zaječar: why does OFK not borrow space from any other Belgrade Superliga player? After all, this practice is already present and works without problems - as can be seen in the example of IMT, the temporary tenant of the Voždovac field.
"The relocation of OFK Belgrade to Zaječar is an obvious compliment to the President of Serbia, so that the new stadium does not look empty." This is an attempt to revive the stadium and make it have any function", says Zivanović.
FULL STANDS IN THE CAMPAIGN
But let's go back a few months. After all, the stands of the newly built Zaječar stadium were not always empty. In November 2023, several thousand people - in shirts, ties, suits and national costumes - roared with "Kraljevica" for the first and, for now, the only time. Then the president of the Football Association of Serbia, Dragan Džajić, in the company of the president of the country Aleksandar Vučić, the president of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and the first man of UEFA, Aleksandar Čeferin, officially opened the stadium, wishing the people of Zaječar that their clubs play in the higher leagues year after year, because "it would be a sin that the best clubs of the country do not play in such a magnificent stadium".
Football club Timok 1919 from Zaječar, although currently leading the table of Zone "East", cannot be classified as one of the best clubs in the country. That is exactly why the construction of a new stadium worth around 24 million euros for the fourth division club was a surprise to many. In addition, even after it was built and - during the pre-election campaign - ceremonially opened, the "Kraljevica" stadium is not used because the local club Timok 1919, like decades before, plays matches at the City Stadium in the immediate vicinity of the newly built "Kraljevica".
Zaječar is not the only one with a brand new stadium. Last year, they also appeared in Loznica and Leskovac, areas that, like Zaječar, are not known for their long football tradition. Of course, no one is saying that these cities do not deserve flashy stadiums - but how meaningful is it to invest tens of millions of euros of government money to build stadiums for clubs without a significant fan base to fill the stands?
The President of the Union of Professional Footballers of Serbia, Mirko Poledica, believes that investments in football infrastructure are good and necessary, but that their addresses are questionable.
"It is unclear why it was invested in cities whose clubs have never achieved any notable results. Timok from Zaječar plays in the fourth league. When the construction of the stadium began, FK Loznica was a first league team, and now they are Serbian league players. Dubočica from Leskovac is playing in the play-out of the First League. The three facilities in which a lot of money was invested are completely economically unprofitable, taking into account that there is no public interest in the matches of these clubs", says Poledica.
Vladimir Živanović adds that stadiums, by themselves, are not profitable. "It makes no sense to open a stadium if it does not have supporting facilities in its surroundings. For example: shopping centers, restaurants, business premises and other facilities. In that case, the stadium itself is like a hotel with ten to twenty working days a year".
According to data available on the Public Procurement Portal, the construction of the "Dubočica" stadium in Leskovac cost about 18 million, while about 22 million euros were allocated from the state treasury for the "Lagator" stadium in Loznica. As President Vučić said earlier, just the maintenance of new stadiums will cost from 12 to 15 thousand euros per month, and in order for the investment to pay off, it is crucial that the stadiums are used for a wide variety of purposes. These are, among other things, international matches. To play them, a UEFA license is required, and only the stadium in Leskovac still fulfills the conditions for the same.
photo: sava radovanović / tanjug"Dubočica", Leskovac
IS THERE ANY SAVE FOR THE LAGATOR?
Paradoxically, the smallest and cheapest of all three newly built stadiums is the only one capable of hosting international matches for now. Only the "Dubočica" stadium has up to this point somewhat justified the huge investments, given that the Serbian national team welcomed Bulgaria there last fall, and European football was not missing either - Belgrade's Čukarički played home games in the group stage of the Conference League at this stadium. We have already said that Zajecar is still waiting for the first kick of the ball, and Loznica is facing a bunch of additional problems.
photo: tara radovanović / tanjugLAGATOR: A. Vučić at the opening of the new stadium in Loznica
Namely, during the construction of "Lagator" so many design mistakes were made that the question is whether it is even possible to bring this stadium up to European standards. The changing rooms leaked, bacteria destroyed the grass surface, the sectors in the stands were not separated, the out lines were not far enough from the concrete wall and the fence, the boxes for the reserve players were too small... Due to numerous problems, the Football Association of Serbia allocated half a million in February euros for repairing existing defects and financing the accompanying maintenance costs on newly built facilities. The money is intended for the company "FSS Stadioni doo Beograd".
WAITING FOR FOREIGN PROVIDER
The company "FSS Stadioni" was registered in APR on December 6, with 100% participation of FSS and the role of taking care of three newly built stadiums. The decision on the necessity of establishing such a company was adopted by the Government of Serbia in September of last year.
President Vučić previously announced that the plan is to select a foreign operator for the maintenance of the new stadiums, and that until his arrival, monthly maintenance will be paid by the FSS.
"In practice, this means that Leskovac, Zaječar, Loznica and other areas where stadiums should be built have been donated, but there is no trust that the local governments will be able to take care of them," says journalist Vladimir Živanović.
However, the councilor of the citizens' group "Zaokret" Uglješa Đuričković from Zaječar tells "Vreme" that in his city "the stadium is definitely not maintained", and that "during the winter, the pipes burst from the cold, causing damage of 300.000 euros".
We contacted the company "FSS Stadioni doo" with questions about how much money is allocated for the maintenance of the stadium per month, as well as with an inquiry about a potential foreign provider, but we did not receive an answer by the end of the stipulated period.
POPULARITY IS NOT EXPENSIVE (WHEN CITIZENS PAY FOR IT)
Across the country, stadium fever is not abating, the European Football Championship is approaching, and the nation's passion for "the most important sideline in the world" does not stop being manipulated for political purposes. Thus, the perfect ground is set for a multi-million dollar budget black hole against which the construction of sparkling small stadiums around the interior seems like an insignificant expense - the national stadium. The exact cost of building the stadium in Surčin is still unknown because according to the first estimate from 2015, it was supposed to cost 150 million euros, so that in 2018 the amount would jump to 250 million, and in 2022 it would rise to even 350 million, plus 190 million euros for infrastructure. Nevertheless, the full stands will justify the fabulous investment - unless, of course, a daily wage is paid for attendance.
"People were brought to the match between Serbia and Bulgaria in Leskovac by bus. It was as if it was a SNS rally and not a football match, because apparently there was a fear that even that small stadium would not be filled. The same will happen with the national stadium, especially in the first matches. In order to prove that it is a profitable investment, they will bring 50 or 60 thousand people to the stands. And then we will pass like Greece, where the facilities built for the 2002 Olympics are overgrown with weeds and are slowly falling apart. Unfortunately, I foresee such a fate for most stadiums", believes Živanović.
But no price is too high to gain popularity. Especially when citizens pay for it.
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