SMG Grabs Euro Soccer Venue

SMG has won the contract to manage Poland’s most modern stadium two years before it will be used to host part of the 2012 European Soccer Championships.

It has a 12-year contract to operate the under-construction Wroclaw Stadium on behalf of the local authority.

After a competitive process lasting 18 months, SMG inked a history-making deal that makes it the first private management company to operate a public facility in Poland. The company set up newly formed subsidiary SMG Polska to tender for the project.

SMG Europe senior vice president John Sutherland described the deal as “a blueprint for a public-private partnership in venue management.”

Wroclaw is also the first Polish city to announce its appointment of a professional management company to operate its stadium in readiness for the soccer tournament.

The city originally planned to refurbish the Olympic Stadium to stage its share of the games but decided to build a new 44,000-capacity venue instead.

It’s in the Maslice district of Wroclaw, about five miles from the airports at Strachowice and Szymanow. Construction began in 2008 and is supposed to be completed this year.

UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, said in May it was satisfied the venue would be up and running in plenty of time for the soccer tournament.

SMG will take charge of the building immediately and be responsible for all aspects of the management, including the booking of concerts and other entertainment shows.

It will also manage conventions and congresses and be involved in the sale of the naming rights. Wroclaw Stadium is only a temporary moniker.

It will have 42,000 seats, more than 2,000 club seats and 30 executive suites, surrounded by an external promenade.

The architectural concept developed by JSK Architekci is a lantern, a distinctive design covered by glass fibre mesh coated with Teflon. Lighting technology makes it possible to change the colour of the external walls.

SMG Europe regional vice president Michael Brill believes Poland is the most important emerging market in Europe.

“As one of the largest Polish cities with close proximity to Warsaw, Berlin and Prague, the opportunity in Wroclaw offers the perfect start for our activities in this market,” he explained.

SMG already has 30 people on its venue management team based in Poland. Its marketing and event booking departments are reporting a very positive response to the new venue.

The other Polish cities to co-host the 2012 European Soccer Championships are Warsaw, Poznan and Gdansk. The other two venues are in Ukraine.