Photo: fcboruna.com.
A rural stadium in the municipality of Dryanovo will be renovated at a cost of BGN 800,000 under the National Program for Shared Financing of Investment Sports Projects. This is the same stadium that was opened in 2015 under a project worth BGN 6.2 million including VAT.
The stadium, with the pretentious name “Republican,” is located in the village of Tsareva Livada. As of December 2024, 441 people live in the village. The small population is no obstacle to it having a stadium with 815 seats, a VIP box with 50 seats, plus a press box with 17 seats, luxurious changing rooms and sanitary facilities, conference rooms, and other extras.
The flooring is worn out
Why does the stadium need to be renovated five years after it was opened, at a cost of BGN 1 million, of which BGN 800,000 is grant funding? “Za Istinata” asks the mayor of the village first.
The flooring is worn out, explains Detelina Kyosova. She does not commit to saying how often the stadium is used, but explains that sports camps are often held in the village, and the village itself has its own football team – Boruna. The team was created a year after the stadium was built with European funds under the Rural Development Program 2007-2013. With undisguised pride, the mayor shares that in the 2022/2023 season, Boruna will participate in the Northwest Third League.
The turf is badly worn, explains Plamen Penchev, director of the Territorial and Settlement Planning Department at the Municipality of Dryanovo. There is no money in the municipal budget to replace it, so it has been decided to seek funding for new turf through projects. Penchev says that he is “not very into sports,” which is why he does not commit to saying how often the stadium is used to wear out the artificial turf. He specifies that the new turf will be laid by a company that will be selected in accordance with the Public Procurement Act.
Infrastructure that even first and second league stadiums do not have
The stadium in the village of Tsareva Livada is one of the most modern rural stadiums in Bulgaria, according to investigative journalist Georgi Filipov in his 2016 book The Black Book of Government Waste.
Filipov calls the stadium “royal” because, according to legend, the horses of the Asenevtsi kings once grazed in Tsareva Livada village, and it was the summer palace of Tsar Ivan Asen II.
According to his investigation, the “royal” stadium in the municipality of Dryanovo ranks among about a hundred other rural stadiums in municipalities throughout Bulgaria, built before the local elections at the end of 2015. At that time, 93 stadiums were renovated and halls were built in villages in Bulgaria for nearly BGN 5 million, with most projects being 100% financed by the European Union.
Under the National Shared Financing Program
the municipality of Dryanovo is on the list of 29 other municipalities that will receive a total of BGN 30 million for the renovation of sports facilities. From the Gabrovo region, only the municipality of Gabrovo is on the same list with a project to renovate the Hristo Smirnenski sports field. An analysis of the list by BIRD.BG shows that 15 of the approved projects are in municipalities run by GERB mayors, 10 are in municipalities run by DPS mayors, and only five are in municipalities run by mayors from other parties.
Almost as much as the municipality’s budget
In 2013, the municipality of Dryanovo announced a public tender for the selection of a contractor for the project “Construction of a stadium in the village of Tsareva Livada, construction of three football, volleyball and basketball courts and renovation of the stadium in the town of Dryanovo, municipality of Dryanovo”. The project envisages the construction of a football field with artificial turf, a swimming pool and a children’s playground.
The project envisages the construction of a football field with artificial turf, spectator stands, a service building with a hall, offices, changing rooms, and sanitary facilities for players and referees, a buffer tank for a treatment plant, parking lots for visitors and staff, a warehouse, a solid fence, and landscaping of the area.
The same project also includes the renovation of the Lokomotiv Stadium in Dryanovo with a football field with natural grass turf and a permanent fence, mini-football, volleyball, and basketball courts.
Eight bids were received from potential contractors for the project, and the contract was awarded to GP Group Ltd. Its value is just over BGN 6 million, including VAT. At that time, the budget of the municipality of Dryanovo was just over BGN 7 million.
Ten years later, the investment, made with public funds, is back on the agenda. Despite the scale of the project, the sports infrastructure in the village of Tsareva Livada needs new funding. This time, the money will come from a national program.
