Photo: Shumen Municipality
Just seven years after its opening, a major renovation costing BGN 1.5 million began on the Arena Shumen sports hall, built during the last government of Boyko Borisov (GERB) and called “the jewel of Shumen” by him and the former mayor of the city, Lyubomir Hristov. The hall was put into operation with fanfare and praise at the end of 2018, after its construction swallowed up BGN 13 million from the state and municipal budgets. In 2025, however, the sports “jewel” was declared unsafe for sports, and until then, the hall was mainly used for events organized by kindergartens and schools, financed by the municipality, and the occasional concert.
On January 21, 2026, the replacement of the Arena Shumen hall’s playing field began, the municipality announced. “The renovation is being undertaken due to problems with the existing flooring, which hindered the normal course of sports competitions and training processes,” the administration explained.
The old flooring of the court is currently being dismantled, the wooden grates underneath are being removed, and the area is being cleaned. The renovation will continue until mid-February. The cost of replacing 1,200 square meters of flooring is estimated at €167,368. The new flooring to be installed is of the highest quality and meets the best standards for flooring in halls of this type, according to the municipality.
The replacement of the flooring is part of a major renovation of the entire hall, costing €714,705. The contractor is TB Floorings EOOD, with which the municipality has signed a contract following a public tender. The funds are for the renovation of ceilings, stairs, railings, the flooring of the playing field, and other construction activities and are provided by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and co-financed by the budget of the municipality of Shumen.
In April 2025, Arena Shumen was officially declared unsafe for sports. At that time, the National Basketball League (NBL) conducted a special inspection of the arena after several injuries to players and decided to suspend sports activities at Arena Shumen.
The “Jewel of Shumen” was built in 2018 and was opened with great fanfare by then-Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the then-mayor of the city and current GERB MP Lyubomir Hristov. The “jewel” was built by the construction giant GP Group, which is close to Borisov, and swallowed over BGN 8 million from the state budget and another BGN 5 million from the municipal budget.
The expensive hall leaked during the first rain just a week after its official opening in 2018. Despite the obvious construction problems, for years the local GERB officials, led by Mayor Lyubomir Hristov, turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the “jewel of Shumen.” Two years after the opening of Arena Shumen, the huge staircase leading to the hall also leaked – after rain, puddles formed under the stairs and the plaster began to mold and swell. As after the first flood, the municipality, which owns the hall, remained silent.
Only after the next mayor, Hristo Hristov, took office at the end of 2023 and after the hall’s five-year warranty period expired, did the municipality announce that Arena Shumen needed urgent major repairs costing BGN 1.5 million.
To date, none of the contractors, clients, or supervisors have been held accountable for the problems with the construction of the long-suffering hall.
