Ingra: “Arena Zagreb to Remain Open for European Handball Championship”

Some good news about the fate of the European Handball Championship in Zagreb…for now. 

Ingra, the construction company behind Arena Zagreb, shocked the Croatian public yesterday when they announced that they would close the doors of the Arena three days before the start of the European Handball Championship because of unsettled debts with Zagreb Holding, the City of Zagreb and the Government of Croatia, reports Index.hr and Vecernji List on January 10, 2018. 

The European Championship begins on Friday in Split, and Zagreb hosts Group C, where Montenegro, Germany, Macedonia and Slovenia will play. The first match is scheduled on Saturday at 17:15 when the Montenegrins and the Germans will meet. The second round of the European Championship, up to the final match, is also scheduled in Zagreb.

All group stage tickets have sold out, and only 500 tickets were available for the semifinals and finals, which is also scheduled to be played at Arena Zagreb – the largest arena in Croatia which opened in December 2008 and is valued around 650 million kuna.

Ingra argued that the City of Zagreb and the Government, through Zagreb Holding, was months overdue in their rent. The City of Zagreb and the Government, who pay an annual rent of 7.2 million euros with Zagreb Holding, was months late on an additional two million euros, and if all debts weren’t paid, Ingra threatened to lock the doors of the Arena just three days before the Euros. You can read more about that here. 

However, in a statement released this morning, Ingra said that the championship will be held in the Arena despite the unresolved financial issues between Ingra, the City of Zagreb and the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

“Since January 2009, after the World Handball Championship in Zagreb, there has been an unpaid debt to Lanište d.o.o. (a member of the Ingra Group company that built Arena Zagreb) for about 1.5 million kuna, which neither the Croatian Handball Federation, the City of Zagreb, nor the Government of Croatia (championship organizers) wanted to settle. Before the European Handball Championship, we asked the Croatian Handball Federation to provide the total necessary funds in advance, for which we have received the appropriate assurances from HRS that the case will not be repeated from January 2009. All the necessary technical preparations for the maintenance championship through Lanište have been done in time, so there are no obstacles to holding the championship,” Ingra announced. 

The closing of the Arena a few days before the start of one of the biggest sports events in Croatia would be a shame and a disaster for the capital city. Milan Bandić, Mayor of Zagreb, who was late for the HRT cameras last night when the news was announced, said that the government had settled all of its obligations to the Arena at the end of last year, adding that Holding had no debts.

“Holding has paid everything and there are no debts. The indexation is eight months into action, and the opinion of the Faculty of Law is being asked – I think it is now over,” said the Zagreb Mayor, who told citizens to buy tickets for the matches both in Split and in Zagreb because Croatia will be in the final.

However, Bandić’s statement angered Igor Oppenheim of Ingra:

“Bandić does not speak the truth, and I will prove it in the documents we publish today. We remain at his side and if the debts are not paid, Bandić can kiss the closed doors of the Arena Zagreb on Saturday,” Oppenheim added.

On behalf of the Croatian Handball Federation, President Tomislav Grahovac announced:

“I do not believe that this will be reflected in such a way as to bring the play of the match at Arena Zagreb into question. I’m surprised, but what’s behind it, I really do not know. It’s hard for me even to think that something like this is possible two to three days before the championship. We have to wait and then we will comment; we need to see if there is any letter.” 

Excerpts taken from Index.hr and Vecernji List 

 

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