Demolition work has commenced at Stadionul Dan Păltinișanu, a 32,000-capacity stadium in the Romanian city of Timișoara, with a view to a new venue being built in its place.
The stadium (pictured in 2013) has been in a state of disrepair for several years and last hosted a football match in September. It opened in 1963 with a capacity of 40,000 and has been used to host football and rugby union matches, as well as music concerts.
Cluj-based demolition company SMZ Impex won a contract to carry out demolition work at the venue, and the process officially commenced yesterday (Monday). The demolition is initially focusing on clearing the remaining seats at the stadium.
Fencing has also been removed, while the scoreboard in the south stand has been taken out. Several of the seats at the stadium have been distributed to local football clubs, while local residents were also given the chance to take home seats for themselves.
The stadium is named after Dan Păltinișanu, a Romanian footballer who spent the majority of his career at the now-defunct Politehnica Timișoara, which played its home games at the venue.
Compania Nationala de Investitii (CNI), a government-owned development company, is planning on building a new 30,000-seat stadium in Timișoara. Design plans for this new stadium are currently being drawn up, with the Actual de Cluj newspaper reporting that 87 companies have expressed an interest in delivering the project.
The new stadium would cost €140m (£116m/$147m) to build and would rank among the largest venues in Romania. It is hoped the new stadium will take around three years to complete.
Alfred Simonis, head of the Timiș County Council, told the Europa Liberǎ news agency: “A sports facility cannot be demolished if there is no funding for a new one, according to the sports law. Moreover, the project for the new stadium is in the auction at the CNI, it is a matter of two to three weeks until the winner is designated and the contract for the construction of the new stadium is signed.”
