PM: National football stadium in Bratislava to be built by state

The National Football Stadium (NFS) in Bratislava will be built by the state, with construction costs not expected to exceed €40-45 million and a portion of them slated to be co-financed by football club Slovan Bratislava, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced on Tuesday. The statement came after Slovan Bratislava president Ivan Kmotrik made it known that he won't continue to finance the construction of the stadium out of his own pocket and get repaid through a lease-back arrangement as originally planned. Fico believes that the construction works could start by the end of this year. "At the moment, we have €27 million at our disposal that should be used for the co-funding of the stadium," said Fico, adding that the Cabinet is prepared to allocate finances to the project also next year. The construction has been dragging on for almost eight years due to a number of reasons. In the most recent development, city councillors have abolished Kmotrik's rental contract and the Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into zoning decisions.