A foundation controlled by Romanian investor and former tennis player Ion Tiriac has sent a request to the Brasov City Council for buying the Olimpia sports base where Tiriac had learnt to play tennis.

He wants to invest EUR 500,000 in the sports base and set up a tennis school, reports local Hotnews.ro.

The place has been abandoned for almost three years. No one has been willing to rent it during this period, although the authorities held four auctions.

The Tiriac foundation told the authorities that it would not change the purpose of the building. The main interest of the Tiriac Foundation is to “ensure the sports development of children and young people” by carrying out several projects in this sense.

Before receiving the offer from Tiriac Foundation, the local authorities were discussing about turning the base into a museum.

The Olimpia sports base entered under the administration of the Brasov County Council in 2013 following the bankruptcy of the tennis club which had managed it.

Ion Tiriac’s foundation has also built an ice rink in Otopeni, Northern Bucharest. Tiriac is one of Romania’s richest. He owns Tiriac Holdings, a group of companies active in automotive, energy, and real estate, and has a significant stake in Allianz Tiriac, one of the top insurers in Romania. He also owns the Madrid tennis tournament.

editor@romania-insider.com