FK Željezničar presents future look and announces construction of the south stand

An extraordinary press conference was held in the Blue Salon of Grbavica Stadium, addressed by the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Senad Misimović, Director Mirsad Šiljak, General Secretary Amer Duvnjak, and member of the Management Board Almir Hadžiosmanović. FK Željezničar presented the future look of the south stand of Grbavica Stadium at the conference, reports the Patria agency.

The Club Director, Mirsad Šiljak, first addressed the media, thanking all media for coming and for their coverage.

- As a reminder, in just 18 months we have done incredible things at our stadium. It is enough to just look at this Blue Salon as it looks now, and how it looked before the reconstruction of the west stand, which you journalists remember well, and today you probably have the best working conditions of any stadium in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, Grbavica meets category two and has a capacity of 13,200 seats, which means that the first two rounds of European competitions can be played here. We received an extraordinary permit to also play the third qualifying round against Braga, but that is not a permanent solution. It is also an honour for us that the national team is considering Grbavica as its home, said Mirsad Šiljak.

The Club's General Secretary, Amer Duvnjak, then addressed the attending journalists, explaining the communication between FK Željezničar and UEFA.

- In the past period, UEFA representatives in charge of infrastructure inspected Grbavica Stadium on three occasions. On each visit, they saw that we had fulfilled all their requirements in a short time. We have excellent communication with UEFA representatives and they have gained a certain trust in our Club. As a result of this and the excellent organisation of two European matches, they approved the possibility of playing the third qualifying round of the Europa League at Grbavica Stadium. UEFA infrastructure experts produced reports divided into several segments, such as spectator safety and security, media conditions, conditions for officials, and floodlighting. We used these valuable consulting services in such a way that we implemented all the requirements and will continue to work on improving the infrastructure of Grbavica Stadium according to UEFA's instructions. We have already started collecting bids for adaptation works on certain rooms, especially those related to media work. In addition, we will refresh the gallery of the north stand, the entrances, and renovate the rooms we will use as a vending zone. Some items we will solve easily, while others require certain larger financial resources. These works will be financed by FK Željezničar from its own current funds, said Amer Duvnjak.

Member of the Management Board and leader of the previous projects on the infrastructure of Grbavica Stadium, Almir Hadžiosmanović, reminded everyone what Grbavica looked like just 18 months ago.

- We should remember what the stadium of FK Željezničar looked like; we played our matches at Koševo Stadium. That stadium seemed like a spaceship to us, and today during inspection we can confidently claim that these two stadiums cannot be compared. A lot of work has been done in one year, and all this seen in the past 18 months, we can rightfully show what has been done at the stadium. Our fans are the best and most numerous; they responded to all our actions and showed that they feel this stadium as their home. The organisation of all events is such that every fan who comes to the stadium protects that stadium. We say that we are the best partner to everyone who wants to make something quality out of this, said Almir Hadžiosmanović.

After Hadžiosmanović, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Senad Misimović, addressed the media, explaining the model for the construction of the south stand.

- At the last Club Assembly, we announced that we must continue the construction of the stadium. You heard what the Club employees said, and I will add that we would not be able to play matches of the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina at this stadium if we had not started the process of working on the stadium infrastructure. Based on our obligations, we want to tell our fans that the construction process of the south stand is starting. Based on the decision of the city council, we created the preconditions for action. In this context, yesterday we submitted a request for urban planning consent. When that process is completed, we will be able to proceed with the continuation of the stadium construction. This is a serious project; it is a fan stand. We could have built a conditionally cheaper stand, but that would not be compatible with the current east stand nor with the club's vision. The south stand, whose project you will see, is a stand that costs 5,500,000 KM.

In the structure of the south stand, 66% of the money is concrete, 34% is the roof. The club can participate in the total cost of the stand of 5,500,000 KM with 30% of the money. We are ready to be a partner to all institutions. On what does Željezničar base the sustainability of the partnership? It bases it on the fact that we are a sports collective that has paid the most taxes, 1,509,000,000 KM. Based on sustainable business, we came to a situation where we can nominate the club for the common good and address ourselves in the manner provided and request a partnership in the construction of Grbavica Stadium. That stadium will be used for all selections of FK Željezničar, and possibly for all national team selections. The club cannot enter into such projects alone.

We owe gratitude to the mayor; we are very connected on a daily basis with the local community. We have firm guarantees that the Municipality will be part of the project. Prime Minister Konaković was at the stadium, he is satisfied with the project and will participate in that segment. We will also address the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina because we want them to be part of the project and on that basis we will fulfil the promise related to improving infrastructure. We want to tell the fans that the moment we sign the construction contract, we will open the mechanism for purchasing ten-year tickets. The goal is for every fan to be part of the project, to be able to buy in instalments, to be at home in their own place. To be woven into the future south wall. Only the chairs cost six times more and they must be folding chairs. For our sponsors, we have provided platinum, gold, and bronze plaques.

We will ensure that from marketing activities we provide sustainable business. The reason we exist is the sports segment and with complete logistics we want the highest goals. None of us who are involved in the club on a voluntary basis want to deal with peripheral things. This stadium, with this or some future structure, should have 20,000 seats; that guarantees the sustainability of the club at any time. No progress can be made in the club without dedication. We need dedicated people. We have created all the preconditions to be able to approach this project and we hope to do so. The procedure lasts at least 90 days, let's say 120 days to have a clean formal legal basis for the start of construction. We will try to secure co-financiers for the construction of the south stand for 70%. The most visited stadium also needs an "echo", so the stand would have to be covered. We must make such an argumentation to reach the amount needed. One must be perfectly precise. For this stand, we will do everything to have a completed financial structure, and regardless of how important the south stand is to the club, everything is important to us.

You will see what we will all do on the north stand. This is too important a project for the club, a project that separates this club from average clubs, a project that brings scouts to our stadium and that drives a club like FK Željezničar to be better every day. We are not a club that goes into debt with banks. FK Željezničar is a brand and of course we could not have moved a pebble if earlier club structures had not enabled this club to be its own. Of course people must know that, but if we have taken on obligations, then we will complete those obligations. The most important thing is that the sports segment will not suffer because we are building something, and that is why there is a huge responsibility on the sports segment, said Senad Misimović.