By Jaroslaw Adamowski
June 21 – The Lodz Municipal authorities have awarded the contract to build a new stadium for Widzew Lodz to Polish construction company PRM Mosty Lodz. The project is worth PLN 120 million (€29 million) and is scheduled to be completed within 28 months.
Combined with related infrastructure works, the total investment in Lodz will be about PLN 138 million (€33.5 million).
The bid by PRM Mosty Lodz was the lowest placed by seven companies and consortia. The builder now has six months to present the final design of the stadium. The new facility will have a capacity of between 15,000 and 18,000 seats.
The decision to build comes at a time when the club is experiencing major financial difficulty, and was recently relegated to the second tier of Poland’s professional football league, I Liga.
Widzew owes close to PLN 14 million (€3.9 million) to 162 public and private entities, reported local daily Fakt. Moreover, the club’s relegation means that Widzew will not receive funds from broadcasting rights which totalled PLN 6 million (€1.5 million) per year when the club competed in the top tier, the Esktraklasa.
Widzew is now reportedly planning to pay its debts by selling its leading players to rival Polish clubs. Despite the club’s financial woes, the Polish Football Association (PZPN) handed Widzew a licence to compete in the I Liga this week.
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