Polić: CSR is proof that public institutions can be self-sustaining

The Public Institution Center for Sports and Recreation is mentioned as a synonym for providing services in the field of sports and creating conditions for practicing sports in the capital of our country, writes the Patria news agency.

The organization of sports competitions, as well as the maintenance of sports facilities, are certainly within their jurisdiction.

Jasmina Polić, director of the Center, says in an interview with Patria that their primary function is to provide sports services, i.e., to satisfy the public interest of the Centar Municipality in this area, promote mass participation in sports, and, of course, due to the specifics of certain facilities like the stadium, to provide services in professional sports.

Precisely for the reason that they wanted to relieve the burden on sports, projects for the construction of a hostel and the renovation of the gymnastics hall were conceived. It is known from before that an initiative came from the state level to declare FIS a national asset, and the project was halted.

- We are not altering the external dimensions of the building; we only plan to install an elevator, which is necessary because disabled persons cannot use the FIS facility. We also need a fire escape, which the FIS facility lacks and which would have to be installed due to the Fire Protection Law. We stated all of this in that letter and have received no response so far, and we are somewhat on hold. So, we don't know if we will manage to realize such a project this year – Polić points out.

PATRIA: What about the project to renovate the gymnastics hall, considering that there is no proper gymnastics hall in the city?

POLIĆ: Apart from the Centar Municipality, which shows a certain sensitivity towards the needs of children, no one from the wider community has expressed interest in putting the gymnastics hall into operation. We already completed the project 10 years ago.

Unfortunately, the Center for Sports and Recreation, with its budget of one million, which also includes the stadium as a facility intended for professional sports and which requires certain interventions every year according to UEFA rules, is drawing on accumulated funds, so FIS is suffering in terms of investment. We have approached the wider community and have never even received a response, let alone seen the project come to light.

We even designed the project in three phases. Approximately 250,000 KM is needed for the complete equipping of the gymnastics hall. No budget would be harmed by this.

PATRIA: You mentioned the Koševo stadium; what needs to be done there?

POLIĆ: We have met the third category according to the standards that have been in place so far. Of course, there are always some minor interventions that the delegate requires from you. We expect a UEFA inspection sometime in March or April, and based on what we have seen from their regulations, we should be thinking about video surveillance next year, which is a significant investment for security reasons. The scoreboard is also at a minimum functional level, and there is no public address system at the stadium; these are some elements that we will certainly have to have in 2017.

PATRIA: How does the Center for Sports and Recreation actually function?

POLIĆ: These stalled projects are projects that would ensure the Center's self-sustainability. So far, we have the support of the Centar Municipality for regular operations. Our total budget is one million, 1.1 million KM, depending on whether we have investments. We receive 140,000 KM from the Municipality as operational support, and investment projects where the Municipality participates to a greater or lesser extent occur sporadically. As for other activities, we are self-financing.

PATRIA: How many employees do you have, and are you operating profitably?

POLIĆ: Twelve years ago, the company had 35 employees, two of whom had university degrees. Today, the company has 23 employees, and this has been consistent, with seven having university degrees. All the projects we manage are carried out by our employees. We are also trying to bring marketing activities to an enviable level. Of course, as much as the conditions and the place of sport in society allow. It is important to mention that it has never happened that we owed our workers any salary, holiday bonus, or meal allowance; these are paid regularly every month. We have no debts to suppliers, but we have significant receivables.

PATRIA: Who owes you the most and for what, and how are these problems overcome?

POLIĆ: Receivables are present to a significant extent, and these are sports clubs and associations that use our facilities. The stadium is particularly problematic, as football generally has financing problems. We must have a high degree of tolerance, and it has never happened that we have closed our doors to a sports team due to debt; instead, we try to solve their problems together.

We witnessed the problem with FK Sarajevo, and we resolved it. Today, we have a problem with second-league teams that are languishing on the margins of financial functioning because they rely on donations and membership fees that are neither regular nor systematic.

We are aware of all their problems, and they become our problems too. That's why we embarked on the path of new investment cycles to alleviate the burden on sports. We sincerely hope that we will be able to talk about new content for FIS, not a project but content, and whether it has yielded the expected results.

PATRIA: Let's return to the Koševo stadium; when can we expect matches of the BiH national team in Sarajevo?

POLIĆ: The stadium meets the criteria for international competition, but we cannot influence the Football Association of BiH's decision on where they will play. The Koševo stadium is also larger in capacity than the one in Zenica, but we cannot influence the decisions. I was surprised when I saw the prices for matches. Our prices are constantly under pressure for being high. And, let me tell you, for the match against France, the FA of BiH paid 17,000 KM, and we waited a year for payment, while we saw that in Zenica, if the data is correct, the FA of BiH pays an average of 30,000 KM per match.