Krakow To Broadcast In April?

As if to compensate for the city – Poland’s second-largest – not having a suitable venue for an event such as the Euro 2012 soccer championship, soon it’ll have “a brand new stadium that will put the city on the world map of culture and sport,” according to the Krakow Post.

Steve Todd of Live Nation, the country’s biggest promoter, said he thinks the Post’s view of an April opening is “a tad optimistic” but he is looking forward to working the new 18,000-seater.

Todd, recently promoted to managing director of concerts for central and eastern Europe, says he’s looking into putting shows in there starting September or October.

“We’re excited about the new arena. It fills a gap in Poland geographically. We already have Gdansk in the north and Lodz in the centre, and now this gives us an arena in the south,” he said. “Decent capacity, good facilities, definitely going to use it.”

The new building is a short distance from the Krakow Plaza shopping centre and easily accessible from every part of the city.

Optimistic or not, the local authority is planning to have an official open day at the end of March.

It’s reportedly cost 400 million zloty (about $131 million), which caused something of a protest from the locals.

Apparently the city didn’t apply for European funding because local politics and disputes between the Warsaw and Krakow authorities made it impossible to get EU support.

The aim is to stage sporting events, concerts, conferences and even film and television productions.

The three-level venue will have 18,000 seats and 27 VIP lounges, including a presidential one, an auditorium for more than 300 people, food courts, multimedia systems and other services that will make it into “one of the most modern venues in the world for sport and cultural events,” according to the Post, an English-language monthly paper.

The roof has been rigged to facilitate the rapid loading of 60 tons of equipment.

In September the venue will be used for the Men’s Volleyball World Championship, and in 2006 it will co-host the European Men’s Handball Championship. It’s also making a pitch for the 2019 Handball World Cup.

Maybe more importantly, Krakow is one of the last five cities in contention to stage the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.