Bucharest’s National Arena reopens this week after a technical commission from the Regional Development Ministry recently decided that the stadium’s retractable roof posed no fire risk.

The stadium was closed after the tragic fire in Bucharest’s Colectiv club, as the authorities decided that no public venue could function without a valid fire permit from the Emergency Situations Department – ISU. The National Arena remained closed because the material its roof was made of was not certified.

A laboratory in Italy examined the material and decided that it had a high fire resistance. Based on this conclusion, the Regional Development Ministry decided that the stadium could be reopened.

“I’m glad we weren’t forced to replace the roof, which would have been costly and useless,” wrote Razvan Sava, Bucharest’s interim mayor, in a Facebook post. “We now have a modern National Arena, classified by all European standards, which can be safely opened for sports events,” he added.

The local authorities have lost some EUR 750,000 in the five months the National Arena has been closed. This sum covers the stadium’s maintenance. The authorities could have made revenues of up to EUR 420,000 is the arena were open and local football teams such as Steaua, Dinamo, and Romania’s national team played matches on this stadium, according to local news.ro.

Romania’s national football team recently decided to play its friendly matches against Lithuania and Spain in Giurgiu and Cluj-Napoca.

Romania’s most expensive stadium stays closed due to roof issues

editor@romania-insider.com