The former Minister of Youth and Sports Vessela Letcheva gave an interview for Actualno.com, in which she commented on the important topics in Bulgaria in recent days. The Chairman of the Bulgarian Shooting Union and member of the IOC Committee on Public and Corporate Communications spoke about what happened during the bloody protest against the management of the Bulgarian Football Union, the heated scandal with Arena Burgas, the situation with other landmark sports facilities and state support for sport. Vessela Letcheva also revealed details about Bulgaria’s possible bid to host the European Shooting Championship.
About the situation with “Arena Burgas”
“With my inauguration as caretaker Minister of Sport, I found an 8-year saga with the sports hall in Burgas. We have said clearly and that the Ministry will not allocate a single lev in addition to the agreed and written funds. We managed to cope with the agreed amount – to finish the hall, to get permits after the end of the construction. Now I hear that it was a decor. That’s not true. The equipment for the hall was ordered in 2020. It remained unpacked until the sports hall was being built. However, if we continue to delay for years, even what is currently available will be outdated as a technology”, she said.
“There is also controversy about the cost of the room. Yes, indeed, 60 million sounds like a huge amount. But let’s stop this poverty. Because tomorrow the question will be asked about the technology by which it is made.
Times are different at the moment. In Hungary, the Puskás Arena, which we all admire, costs 600 million euros. More than 1 billion euros have been invested in the last 10 years for sports facilities”, added Letcheva.
About other sports facilities in the country
“I continue to believe that the construction of the Bulgarian Army Stadium is an irreversible process. From now on, it is only a matter of political will to make it happen. Unfortunately, in our country there is no good model for the management of sports facilities – a successful symbiosis between a sports organization, a municipality, a state”, she said.
“There is no doubt that Bulgaria needs a new modern sports facility. The topic of a new national stadium should be carefully discussed. There are many questions that need to be raised – how it will be operated, managed, who will pay the costs, who will design, etc. These questions are not raised, they are constantly absent from the public debate.”
The long-awaited new shooting range
“Shooting sports is one of the most successful sports in Bulgaria. This base was built in the early 60-70s. So far, not a single lev has been invested. We are at the end of the repair. It was disgusting and extremely humiliating for our talented children. That is why I insisted and every week I am here to monitor the repair of the facility, “said Vessela Letcheva.
