Cost of Puskás Aréna ʼaverageʼ in European comparison

Parliament

Andor Elekes/Wikimedia Commons

The cost of building Budapestʼs new Puskás Ferenc Aréna, a state-funded, UEFA category four stadium that can seat close to 68,000, was "average" in European comparison, a government official said in a written response to an opposition MP posted on the website of Parliament on Tuesday, state news wire MTI reports.

The arena on November 15, the night of the opening match between Hungary and Uruguay. (Image: Andor Elekes/Wikimedia Commons)

State secretary Balázs Orbán noted that the stadium cost net HUF 150 billion to build, the same as the price tag in the original construction contract signed in March 2017.

"The cost of constructing the [Puskás] Aréna can be seen as average in European comparison and [it] was built in realistic market frameworks," he said.

The cost of the stadium, at around EUR 567 million, compares to a EUR 637 mln price tag for the Baku National Stadium and EUR 531 mln for the Emirates Stadium in London, Orbán said, referring to stadiums of a similar size completed in 2015 and 2006, respectively.

He added that the cost of constructing the New National Stadium in Tokyo, a 68,000-seat venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics which was built at the same time as Puskás Aréna, was around EUR 1.1 bln.

"The [Puskás] Aréna is a 100% Hungarian achievement: Hungarians designed it, Hungarians built it. A total of 15,000 Hungarians were employed in the course of its construction," he said.

Puskás Aréna was inaugurated on Friday, with a match between Hungary and Uruguay, with the South American team winning 2-1. The arena is scheduled to host four UEFA EURO 2020 matches: Group F matches on June 16, 20 and 24; and a Round of 16 match on June 28.

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