Euro 2012 in Krakow, minister says

Minister of Sport and Tourism Elzbieta Jakubiak says she will do everything in her power to assure that Krakow will be a host city for the European Championship football games in 2012. Jakubiak came to Krakow on Oct. 16 and visited the stadiums of both first-division football clubs of the city. She insisted that Krakow is not one of two stand-by candidate cities, but one of six Polish hosts of the event. On Sept. 7, the Polish Parliament issued a bill on organizing Euro 2012 in which six host cities were listed: Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw, Chorzow and Krakow. But earlier in the year, in April, soon after the Union of European Football Associations had chosen a joint Polish-Ukrainian bid, the Polish organizing committee presented Chorzow and Krakow as reserve candidates, with four other cities listed as hosts. Since then, Krakow authorities and residents have tried to regain and confirm their city's spot as a host. The final, official decision will be taken by the UEFA itself. The stakes are high. Every city hosting Euro 2012 games will receive mlns from the Polish and European budgets for developing infrastructure. Another bonus for host cities will be the money spent by tourists during the tournament. Jakubiak visited Krakow and Chorzow just before leaving Poland to hold talks with UEFA President Michel Platini. Whether she managed to persuade him to increase the number of the Polish host cities from four to six will become clear this winter. The decision will probably be announced in December. If Krakow achieves its goal, the matches in 2012 will be played at Wisla stadium, which currently is undergoing major reconstruction. The arena is scheduled to be ready in 2010, providing seats for 35,000 spectators. According to the plans this football arena will be ready in 2010 providing seats for 35,000 supporters.