Tomer Havez
Nes Ziona players (Shahar Gross)
The newcomer to the Premier League, Sektia Nes Ziona, still does not have a home stadium for the upcoming season. The team announced that it had chosen to host its games in Haberfeld, but the association decided during a tour that the pitch was not up to standard. The team announced an alternative in the form of Rishon LeZion Stadium, but it will need work. ONE has learned that negotiations are underway for Ness Ziona to host its games at Shlomo Insurance Stadium in Petah Tikva, with the price being NIS 32,000 plus VAT.
The message reads: “Dear fans, as you know, with our qualification to the Premier League, along with building the players’ roster, we have been very busy with the home stadium where we will host the team’s games. All along the way, the best interests of the team’s fans were in our favor and after examining all the options, we chose the Haberfeld Stadium in Rishon LeZion – the closest stadium to Nes Ziona, in order to allow the fans to come to the games, encourage and push the team.
We also chose this option over modern and larger stadiums, which would probably have generated significant financial income for the team from ticket sales – all in order to allow you, the fans, to come watch the games at the stadium near the city of Ness Ziona. When choosing the stadium, it was necessary to make adjustments to hold games in the Premier League and we received the commitment of the Rishon LeZion Municipality that all the works would be completed a reasonable time before the start of the season.
After several joint tours, last week there was a tour by the Football Association, the league manager and the broadcasting franchisee to obtain the stadium’s licensing status. Unfortunately, during the tour it was discovered that as of this date, there are still a number of substantial gaps and the stadium does not meet the standard required for holding games in the Premier League, including the possibility of producing the broadcasts to the required standard.
Accordingly, the league director had to ask us to announce an alternative home stadium to hold the games. From the moment the director contacted us, we worked day and night to try and change the evil of the layout, but unfortunately, even up to this moment, the necessary adjustment works at Rishon LeZion Stadium have not been completed. We hope that the necessary works will be done as soon as possible, so that we can hold the home games at the Rishon LeZion Stadium, as we were promised by the Municipality of Rashtrapati.
At the same time, we are checking and dealing with a number of stadiums that meet the standard requirements for holding games in the Premier League and are making every effort to find a suitable alternative for you, dear fans, and for the success of the team.”
