Plans for National Stadium Unveiled

Officials at UEFA (European football’s governing body) have recently been getting apprehensive about whether the infrastructure will be in place in time for Poland and Ukraine’s joint hosting of the 2012 European Championships.

According to the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, they needn’t worry, for Poland will soon have a national stadium to rival London’s Wembley and Paris’ Stade de France.

The tender for the building contract was won by construction company, JSK Architekci. They presented a timetable for the work last December and the first stages of the development project will be initiated in the near future. The ground will be prepared in September and the construction itself should start by March next year. The stadium should be completed in 2011, just in time for the Championships. According to the visual presentation and mock-up presented last week to journalists by JSK Architekci, the facade of the stadium will allude to the colors of Poland by representing a rippling Polish flag. The stands will contain seating for up to 55,000.

The National Stadium will be constructed around the shell of the dilapidated Dziesieciolecia Stadium in the Warsaw district of Praga. In recent times Praga has gained a reputation for being violent and dangerous and as recently as last year, the old stadium could only be reached by way of a potholed road through thickets of undergrowth.

It is hoped that the construction of the stadium will help to improve the image of Praga and encourage property developers to invest in the area by converting ruined old tenements into modern apartment complexes. It is likely that the National Stadium will be used after the 2012 Championships to host large-scale concerts, trade fairs and cultural events.