The Ondrej Nepela ice-hockey stadium during 2011 ice hockey world championship. (source: TASR)
The Ondrej Nepela ice-hockey stadium will require a €2 million investment before the world ice hockey championship which will be hosted by Bratislava and Košice in 2019.
It is much less than the originally planned €5 million needed to rebuild the place in order to meet the new requirements for holding the world championships.
The sum may not be final, the TASR newswire reported.
Funds for the reconstruction
“The inspection went well,” said Bratislava Mayor Ivo Nesrovnal, as quoted by the Denník N daily.
The chief comptroller of Bratislava was sent to the stadium at the end of last year, after information emerged that the reconstruction of the stadium, completed in 2011 and worth more than €70 million, might require up to €5 million.
“Roughly €1 million has not been negotiated yet,” said chief comptroller Peter Šinály, as quoted by Denník N, adding that Nesrovnal will try to receive this amount either from the state or the Slovak Ice Hockey Association.
The city will allocate €950,000 for the purpose, of which €300,000 was paid last year and remaining €650,000 will be allocated from this year’s budget, Šinály added.
The bigger investment will be required to rebuild the cooling system at the stadium, the chief comptroller said. It is also necessary to invest in an air-conditioning system, information cube, ice resurfacer, seats and security system, TASR reported.
As for the originally mentioned €5 million investment, the city’s representatives explained that the sum was not meant to be spent in one year. Some repairs needed to save on energy costs have been postponed temporarily, said Peter Vojtko, head of the municipal organisation responsible for sports and recreation facilities, as reported by TASR.
Slovan owes money
The inspection also revealed that the ice hockey club Slovan, which is using the hall, owes more than €1 million in rent.
Its managers promised in mid-February to pay off at least €500,000, but they have failed to do so far, Denník N wrote.
