Taraba: Bratislava Ice Stadium to Receive €3.4 Mn for Modernisation

Bratislava, 15 March (TASR) - A total of €3.4 million has been earmarked for the modernisation of the Vladimir Dzurilla Ice Stadium in Bratislava, with the funding to be allocated by the Environment Ministry under the Modernisation Fund, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (nominee of the Slovak National Party) has announced. The mayor of Bratislava's Ruzinov borough, Martin Chren, said the renovation would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 300 tonnes per year. In addition, it's supposed to bring energy savings of more than €200,000 annually. "At present there are many stadiums in Slovakia which unfortunately no longer meet the energy standards that a modern stadium should fulfil, and often are not even suitable for the purposes for which they were originally intended," Taraba said. According to him, if Slovakia wants to achieve success in sport, it is a priority to make sure it has infrastructure at an adequate level. Chren said the stadium was built in 1980 and has a capacity of around 3,500 seats. President of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation Miroslav Satan also pointed out that the investment gap in sports infrastructure in Slovakia is about €100 million, with hockey accounting for a large share. The federation does not have the resources to build new stadiums, and local authorities cannot afford to demolish 50- to 60-year-old arenas and build new ones from their budgets. "We are left only with the path of such gradual reconstructions," Satan said. He welcomed the ministry's plan to invest in and repair the Bratislava stadium. mf/ko