The Sami Ofer Stadium is warming up for the Champions League match between Maccabi Haifa and Red Star Belgrade. The person in charge of the preparations is the CEO of the Sami Ofer Stadium, Lior Perry, who told “5 on Air” about the preparations.
“We are very excited. UEFA are professionals who go down to the details and everything is conducted according to the protocol in the most meticulous way possible,” Perry said, “we are preparing, you cannot skip a letter or a comma. Everything is checked and tested. There is something to learn from them and the attention to detail.”
“The Sami Ofer Stadium was built for games of this type,” Perry continued, “the UEFA staff are full of admiration and wonder at the facility and the conditions at Sami Ofer.”
One of the issues that preoccupy Maccabi Haifa fans on social media is the issue of enlarging the Sami Ofer Stadium, in light of the great demand from the fans. Today the stadium in Haifa holds about 30 thousand spectators, but the demand of the green crowd is much greater.
“From an economic point of view, there is no possibility of expanding Sami Ofer”, Perry cooled the enthusiasm, “From an engineering point of view, everything has a solution, but to dismantle a roof, it is not realistic. I see the possibility of adding dozens of seats, but they will have to forgive us, it is simply not possible.”
“I know there’s a huge demand and that’s gratifying on the one hand,” Perry concluded, “but it’s not possible. It’s what it is and our job is to give an enjoyable viewing experience both to viewers from home and to those who come.”