Constanta is building its stadium: City Hall pays, Government breathes a sigh of relief, and Hagi awaits the key

Constanta will have a new stadium, and if everything goes according to plan - that is, without the traditional "we got stuck in the auction” - the construction site will start in September, because, says Mayor Vergil Chiţac, "Farul and Gică Hagi deserve to play at home, not on the road”. After years of promises, models and dusty files in the CNI offices, the city mayor has decided that there is no more time to waste. Therefore, Constanta City Hall is investing 65 million lei, the local contribution to the project, and is putting it on the table from day one, as if it were on the market. "This way, the Government is relieved of the burden of immediate expenses” - said the mayor.

• 18,500 seats and a European vibe

The new stadium will have a capacity of 18,500 seats, training rooms, squash, commercial spaces, conferences and, of course, a lot of hope. It was designed to be multifunctional, it can also host tourism fairs or street-food festivals. The project costs a total of almost 100 million euros and is being carried out by the Ministry of Development, through the National Investment Company, in partnership with the Constanta City Hall. In translation: it is a collaboration between the state and the local, that is, exactly the kind of collaboration that, in Romania, works as effectively as a pass on the counterattack... directly into the goal.

• The field of promises: it has been said in other years

Farul Constanta, the champion of local hearts and sometimes of League 1, has been at the center of discussions and promises related to sports infrastructure. In the meantime, he played at Ovidiu - but on Saturday he beat FCSB away, so the mayor's timing for the announcement was perfect. As it should be: the team wins on the field, the administration... promises from the stands.

• The mayor's optimism: we have everything we need

"We have all the assets, we have the money, we have the solutions," declared Vergil Chiţac, gracefully ignoring the fact that Romanians have heard this phrase too many times, from too many politicians, and that, generally, the "solution" comes with a delay of about 18 months and an additional cost. The people of Constanta have heard a lot in recent years: about tourism, about infrastructure, about the future of the city. Now they have also heard about the stadium. Let's hope that, this time, the loyalty of the supporters will be rewarded with concrete, not just words.