Watch the documentation: the stand has been renovated, the safety works have already been done and the new services are also in the works (slightly late). So why, after all, does the mythical field not deserve to be hosted in the national team? The full explanation
About a year and a half ago, the Tel Aviv Municipality released an announcement that ignited the imagination of Tel Aviv football fans: the Ha-Tikva neighborhood stadium will be renovated. The municipality allocated NIS 8 million for the renovation, and explained that in the first phase, safety work will be carried out for the grandstand, including strengthening, restoring and sealing the tundas, replacing seats and other adjustments. when the goal was to grant the stadium a business license.
According to the announcement, the renovation, which was carried out by the “Gani Yehoshua” company and will be transferred to the “Sports Halls” company, was supposed to be completed in May of this year, after which additional works may and should have been carried out in order to prepare the stadium for the national league. But four months after the deadline, and the safety works are still in progress.
So where does the renovation stand now? Well, it is indeed in progress, but gives the impression that it is still far from finished. First, all the safety work has already been done. New tanks were placed, fences were renewed, the TV tower was placed and other reinforcements were made. One of the stands, which two years ago was photographed completely destroyed after the intervention of the bulldozers, is almost finished now, when even the fans’ chairs have already been assembled.
However, there are still some corrections that will need to be made in order for Bnei Yehuda to be able to host the Hatikva neighborhood in the National League. Besides the remaining works, including new services for the disabled and women, the construction company will have to complete the repair of the southern stand and the lighting repairs. The problem is that these repairs were not included in the budget set by the Tel Aviv Municipality about a year and a half ago, and now a request for an additional budget of approximately NIS 20 million is placed on the municipality’s table to complete the works and indeed qualify the stadium for the National League.
Hosting the Premier League, by the way, was not at all on the agenda when the renovation was planned. That is, it did go up in the past, but it turned out that the stadium law does not allow this since the stadium is near the Ayalon road and is not in a line of sight area – which allows only one entrance and one exit. What’s more, the nearby streets are narrow, and ambulances and rescue teams cannot enter in case of an incident with casualties.
The land itself, it should be noted, is not owned by Bnei Yehuda nor by the Tel Aviv Municipality. The lot is owned by several owners, including the Israel Land Company and the National Fund for Israel, which makes it difficult to complete the process. In the National League, if they renovate the lighting and the western stand, but we want to host in the Premier League,” said a Bnei Yehuda source.
Tel Aviv Municipality’s response will be provided when received.
