The management process of the Limassol stadium under construction and the possibility of it being named after a private company, discussed on Thursday the Parliamentary Committee for the Monitoring of Development Plans and Public Expenditure Control, with its members calling on those responsible to follow transparent and sound procedures.
Reservations were expressed about the possibility that the Cyprus Sports Organisation (CSO) might directly award the management of the stadium to a company, namely 'AAA', founded by the three Limassol clubs, AEL, ARI and Apollon, which will have the stadium as their headquarters, to manage the stadium. Objections were also heard, following related reports, about the possibility of the stadium bearing the name of a supermarket or any private company.
The president of the CAA, Andreas Michaelides, told the committee that they have nothing to do with alleged agreements concerning the name of the stadium.
Apollon general manager George Papagiannis told the meeting that when the stadium is completed, the three teams should be ready to manage it, to take care of all the expenses, so that when there are damages they can repair them and not ask for help from the COA, or elsewhere. For that reason, he said, AAA announced some tenders to see if there was interest from the market, in terms of naming, as is done in all the great stadiums of the world, and one company was interested and would like to take the name of the stadium, but nothing firm has been signed because the agreement between the teams and the CIO on the management issue is not yet clear.
Michaelides informed the Committee that the CTO has requested an opinion from the Legal Service as to whether it is entitled to assign directly to the three clubs the management of the new Limassol stadium and from the State Aid Supervisor, Stella Michaelides.
Mrs. Michaelidou said that the question that had been put to her office was on the issue of direct awarding of the contract in order to gain time, so that there would be an elaborate answer.
She said that her office has its answer ready, but is waiting for the answer of the Legal Service. She added that if the Legal Service agrees, her office's position is that if the market rent, to be determined by experts, is paid, then yes, it could, but also assuming the other state aid requirements are met.
The Auditor General, Odysseas Michaelides, said while speaking before the Commission that according to the law, the only one who can give approval for state aid is the European Commission and that if they do not see a written approval from the EU, his office will inform it on this matter.
The Commission's Deputy Chairman, DIKO MP Chrysis Pantelides, said in a statement after the meeting that their position is clear, and that "it is imperative that there is a proper management agreement for the new Limassol stadium." He said that this means that the agreement must be compatible with EU rules on state aid and approved by the European Commission, compatible with legislation and rules of transparency and good administration, but also affordable to football clubs and any other body wishing to use the new stadium, and capable of returning to the state, at least in the long term, some or all of the many taxpayers' money that have been spent on its construction.
He said it is estimated that the stadium will be open in September but no one is in a position to state that with certainty. Responding to a question about the cost, he said the presidential office announced eight years ago that the new stadium would cost €15 million while today it is at €35 million plus about €10 million for the road network.
Andreas Michaelides said in his own statements that they have informed the Commission that the CTO has followed all legal procedures regarding the new stadium being built in Limassol.
He said they are awaiting the opinions of the Legal Service and the State Aid Authority, together with the views of the European Commission. He also said that they are expecting in four weeks from today the opinion of an accounting and auditing company, which was selected after a tender competition, on the issue of the market rent of the stadium.
He said that as the CMO, they want to proceed after the opinions regarding the issue of the management, operation and maintenance of the new stadium.
On the issue of the name, he said this is about the management of the stadium when the relevant decisions are taken.
Regarding the cost of the stadium, he said when the CMO went out to bid, the estimate was for €29.3 million, the bid was given for €31.3 million, while today the cost is about €35 million after approval by the Central Claims and Claims Committee in which a representative of the Audit Office also participates.
He added that there is no chance that the stadium will be used for any diversion.
Michaelides also said that the road network that is being constructed in the area of the stadium is about €7 million.6 million and the first phase will be finished in December and, apart from the fans, it will also serve seven communities in the area.
The spokesman of the Audit Office, Marios Petridis, pointed out in statements after the meeting that August, when the stadium is expected to be ready, is approaching and the European Commission has not yet been informed. He said that the European Commission's approval on how the stadium will be managed should be obtained. He added that the management should be undertaken by a suitable company with open procedures and with experience in providing such services, adding that the management company will charge the appropriate rent to the teams and will also secure revenue from other activities.
If the state, he said, believes that it is necessary to support a football team, then it should be done in a transparent manner so that there is the necessary control.
"We disagree with any support that will be indirect to allow any team to a "This is a serious matter," he added, which will be considered in subsequent sessions because clubs expect from the naming of the stadium and commercial management to have serious money to put into their coffers, but at the same time, the naming of public buildings of the state cannot be left to any private company.
Noting that during the meeting there was talk of foreign stadiums bearing the names of companies, he said that these stadiums were built by the teams, while the Limassol stadium was built by the state with taxpayers' money. The Cabinet should think twice before giving this power to any private company, he said.
The MP of the Ecologists-Civic Coalition Movement, Stavros Papadouris, said that the purpose of the committee is to see if there is a waste of public money, not only for the construction but also for the management of the stadium.
He said he told the clubs, which created the company to manage the stadium, to make it clear that it is now a private company, like all property management companies, regardless of whether it is state-owned, "and we must forget forever past practices of supporting clubs for business purposes." He said the management process should be by open bidding, and a name for the stadium that did not refer to the area, the country or historical individuals "would be unfortunate". However, he said, if indeed the management contract does provide that the brand name has something to do with the name, it should be properly paid for.
Independent MP Andreas Themistocleous pointed out in his remarks that the stadium is being built on state land and with public money and warned that if the management is awarded to a private party without public bids then "the next biggest financial scandal of the 21st century in Cyprus will be hatched".
He said they were told "in the corridors", after the meeting, that the clubs, in case the company "AAA" is not awarded the contract, will refuse to play football in the new stadium, and that the state is under blackmail.
On the name issue, he said that the Cabinet, has every authority and right to decide the name of the stadium, and it can be the name of a hero, politician or region, and that it is unthinkable to have this supermarket name on the front as the name of the stadium.
Source: KYPE
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