Basketball arena in Bulgaria becomes unusable months after being built / News - Basketnews.com

Arena Burgas cannot hold any professional competitions because the equipment is either faulty, mismanaged, or missing. Water is coming down the walls, the pavement is uneven, and the cost has skyrocketed threefold. It has become a symbol of corruption in the country.

Credit: Burgas Municipality Credit Burgas Municipality

A basketball arena was being built in the city of Burgas in Bulgaria for almost a decade. In the end, it turned out it could not be used for basketball games.

Arena Burgas, a 4,100-seat multi-purpose venue that can fit up to 15,000 people during concerts, was opened in May 2023. Months after the inauguration basketball game between BC Chernomorets and BC Rilski Sportist, the arena is unusable.

An audit revealed that there are multiple serious flaws in the construction and the organization of the venue. Notably, the equipment delivered to the venue cannot be used in professional games, Iskra reports.

Baskets were taken from other venues, and the arena didn't even have anything to clean the floors with. The baskets that were bought for the venue are only suitable for amateur competitions. Being built as a multi-purpose venue, it can only host gymnastics events at the moment.

The concrete hasn't been prepared correctly, not allowing volleyball posts to be installed into the ground. Athletics events or event practices cannot be held as well because the track hasn't been laid out, while the tracking equipment has been transported to the Bulgarian Athletics Federation due to mismanagement, Sportal writes.

"For this hall to start functioning again, it must be renovated and equipped with the various sports facilities for the respective sports. For me, things there are very worrying because of the execution of the construction of the hall itself. Anyone without being a specialist builder can see that it is poorly done. There are toilets with water running down the walls, there is a discrepancy in the leveling of the sectors," said Dimitar Iliev, the Bulgarian Minister of Sports.

"It is extremely poorly made. There are many problems with sports equipment, it's incapable of holding an international competition," Iliev continued. "How did they do this? Where was quality control? Why has it become so expensive? These are all questions that must be answered."

Only particular journalists were allowed to visit the grand hall during the opening of the venue, which immediately sparked suspicion. The cost of the venue has skyrocketed throughout the years.

Since the first works began in 2014, it has become a symbol of corruption and mismanagement both in the city of Burgas and in Bulgaria. While the starting budget for the arena was 25 million Bulgarian Lev (€12.7 million), it increased threefold to 75 million Bulgarian Lev (€38.3 million).

BC Chernomorets, who had to play Bulgarian League games in Arena Burgas, are now playing in a small gym locally called Boycho Branzov.

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