Poland’s hotels are having trouble meeting UEFA standards to house football teams during the Euro2012 championships.
UEFA holds strict standards for housing football teams during international competitions: teams must stay in a 5-star hotel, with a minimum of sixty rooms with one conference room per 100 people. The hotel must be situated so that it is not easily accessible to fans or journalists, with two practice fields in the area, yet within one hour of an airport.
A complex in the western city of Jarocin, famous for the rock music festival in July, is being presented with difficulties in completing UEFA standards, despite the fact that the Jarocin Sport centre, partially owned by the regional government, includes a full-service hotel, five fields, and covered and open swimming pools.
In order to fulfill UEFA’s requirements, a 17-million zloty (3.8 million euro) of the hotel must occur, forty percent of costs will be covered by the EU. Cost analysis calculations have shown that, despite EU supplementary funds, the region will lose 150,000 zloty (34,000 euro).
Eight international teams are expected in Poland during the 2012 championships and fifty local governments in the country are preparing to host the teams, presenting small towns with a chance to participate in the economic boom expected from the games.
However, preparing a training and hotel centre for soccer team costs several million zloty and regional governments are turning to the state, European Union, banks and private investors for help.
“Our analysis does show, however, that after increasing the standard of the hotel, the complex will earn back the money,” stated Slawomir Chrzanowski, head of the firm Jarocin Sport.
“We are making up our financial losses by hosting wedding parties,” adds Jan Jurkiewicz, hotel investor in Straszecin, southern Poland. Jurkiewicz is heavily invested in a sports complex near Rzeszow, meant to serve teams playing in Chorzow or Krakow in the Euro2012 matches.
In the fall, Poland will present UEFA with 30 to 35 locations to host teams for the coming games. The European Football Association will pick 16 of the best. Teams will then choose eight locations to stay in during the championships. (mmj)