Bucharest’s National Arena, the most expensive stadium ever built in Romania, will remain closed due to roof issues. The roof is not broken, but it’s made of materials that are not approved for use in the Romania and the European Union, and the Emergency Situations Department – ISU Bucuresti-Ilfov said would not allow the stadium to be opened until this issue is solved.

The National Arena was opened in September 2011 and the total cost for building it was close to EUR 235 million. The retractable roof, which was not included in the arena’s initial project, added some EUR 45 million to the total costs, according to acting Bucharest mayor Razvan Sava. He said he would start a technical and financial audit of this contract.

“We have a typical case of bad management of public funds. We have thrown the money away. The former administration has built a stadium without considering the rules in force at that time. If the rules had been respected, this roof shouldn’t have been built in this form. We don’t know if the material it is made of will be approved or not,” the mayor wrote in a Facebook post.

He explained that the initial project to modernize the stadium included a fixed roof made of tin, which had been approved by the ISU. However, during the construction, the authorities have decided to change the roof and set up a retractable one, even if the material it was made of had not been approved in Romania. The ISU never approved the changes to the project, but the City Hall signed the reception papers and paid the money to the contractor anyway.

Sorin Oprescu was mayor when the stadium was finalized. He was arrested last year and is now under investigation for bribery in a case that is not related to this one.

Although the new roof never received the fire safety approval from the Emergency Situations Department, the arena was opened in September 2011 and has hosted many football matches and several concerts and events. Among these was the 2012 Europa League final.

ISU Bucuresti-Ilfov decided to close the arena after the tragedy in club Colectiv at the end of October. The fire in Colectiv, which killed 63 people, brought into public attention the fact that many clubs and restaurants and some public venues in Romania functioned without having fire safety approvals from the authorities. All these places were closed down until they would get the required permits.

The City Hall is now trying to find solutions to reopen the stadium. One may be to remove the retractable roof, according to the mayor.

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editor@romania-insider.com