Poland working overtime with the goal in sight

IT’S A decade since my first and last visit to Warsaw’s national stadium. Then, the crumbling communist ruin was no longer a home to sports events but a vast market where you could buy everything from counterfeit vodka to very real guns.

On recent visits to Warsaw, I’ve watched with fascination as the old stadium disappeared behind a cocoon of scaffolding. On my last visit in September, it had been replaced entirely by the architectural lovechild of the Aviva Stadium and Munich’s Allianz Arena.

The Warsaw stadium will host the opening match of Euro 2012 on June 8th. In the 200 days until then, Poland is working around the clock to finish its infrastructure to prove the pessimists wrong and Uefa president Michel Platini right.

In 2007 he described Uefa’s decision in favour of Poland and Ukraine as a “sign of trust” in central European soccer. In the five years since, that trust has been sorely tested as preparations were dogged by cost-overruns and corruption scandals.

Now the goal is in sight and, when half a million football fans descend on this vast country in June, it will be to a country transformed.

Nearly 3,000km of new roads and motorways have been built and 1,500km of railways upgraded.

Some 15 train stations have been renovated and 300 new hotels constructed. The total cost: €18 billion. A large part of the Polish investment came from EU structural funds, described by government officials as a “mini-Marshall plan” for the former communist country.

The four host cities – Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan and Wroclaw – have spent €5 billion renovating and rebuilding their respective stadiums (see below) and are now racing to finish the connecting infrastructure.

But Uefa is worried that time is running out.

“There is still major work to be done in the next three to four months, especially in transport, from the airports to the stadiums and to the city centres,” said Martin Kallen, Uefa’s operations director for the tournament. “The (Poles) are still building north-south and west-east motorways, and some projects will not be finished. You will have to go off the motorway and have to go back on again 10-15km later.”

Delays have also dogged the completion of the new airport terminal in Gdansk and the rail link from Warsaw’s Chopin Airport. Transport problems aside, European soccer’s governing body hopes the tournament will transform the game in the region.

The Polish government has embraced the tournament – taking place under the slogan “making history together” – as the chance of a lifetime to put their country on the map. They hope for a positive vibe similar to that enjoyed by Germany after the 2006 World Cup. The four host cities, meanwhile, are hoping for a “Barcelona” effect – a lasting positive push resulting from the infrastructure development and visitor influx.

As the pieces of the tournament fall into place, a remaining area of concern is visitor safety. Polish football hooliganism has been an on-going problem in the last decade despite a police crack-down.

Earlier this year in the central city of Lodz, a 24-year-old man died during a riot involving 150 hooligans from local teams.

The Polish government has introduced a rapid-reaction system in courts, with electronic foot tags and stadium bans for the worst offenders.

But ordinary Poles, while looking forward to the tournament, still express concern about safety and policing. A march to mark Poland’s Independence Day last week in Warsaw turned into a riot, with 210 arrests and 29 people hospitalised.

Warsaw woman Ula Siemion was detained by police, along with friends visiting from Norway, while walking home after a night out last year.

“We were separated, my friends were refused a translator, they were mocked and laughed at and pushed around by police and no reason whatsoever was given for our 12-hour detention,” she said.

“Violence was used against my friends when they did not understand orders in Polish. Since I couldn’t communicate with them they thought they were locked in an asylum or prison with no hope for contact with the outside world. They all say they have never been so humiliated in their life.”

Organisers say they are aware of such concerns and have conducted extensive training with Polish police.

In addition, they have recruited over 3,000 volunteers with foreign language skills to meet, greet and direct fans on arrival and act as go-betweens in case of conflict. “These volunteers will play a very important role in the sporting and social event,” said Jacek Wojciechowicz, deputy mayor of Warsaw, announcing the recruitment drive a month ago. “Theirs is the job that will create the image of each of the four cities.”

Prof Anna Giza, a sociology professor at Warsaw University conducting a major study on the tournament, is optimistic about the event’s lasting effect despite the huge challenge.

“This is the first occasion when such a large number of people from western Europe come to central and eastern Europe,” she said.

“East meets west could be the lasting motto. I hope the authorities won’t waste the opportunity or allow it end in bad PR for Poland.”

IN GENERAL

Hotel rooms:Usually good value in Poland, but are vanishing fast on match days in the host cities.

The cheapest bed available in Warsaw after the June 8th opening match costs €155 for a double and it is in a hostel. Holiday apartments are a good option for groups, but also vanishing fast.

Getting around:With the motorway network unlikely to be completed in time and air travel expensive, trains are the best option to get around.

Cheap and reliable, but likely to be full so try booking in advance. The PKP train company’s website is impenetrable, but www.polrail.com offers tickets in English.

Food:Make sure to try the cheap and filling Polish staples. Pierogi are delicious dumplings filled with everything from potato to mushrooms and meat. Zurek is a sensational, sour-sweet rye soup with an egg floating in it. And Poland has its own delicious sausage, too.

Beer:Polish beer is cheap and good. The best-known brands are Zwyiec and Tyskie (also available in Ireland) and cost, in Poland, around six zloty or €1.35 for a half-litre glass.

Cities:All of Poland's host cities are pleasant places with good tourist networks, pretty and historic old towns and good bars.

Best tourist guide:The In Your Pocket Guidesoffer the best up-to-date information on the host cities. www.inyourpocket.com.

Warsaw

Stadion Narodowy /National Stadium:Built for €500 million on the site of a communist-era stadium, the new stadium will seat 58,000. As well as the opening match on June 8th it will host a quarter-final and a semi-final.

How to get there:Direct flights from Dublin with Ryanair and Aer Lingus.

Gdansk

The PGE Arena:No athletic tracks, bringing fans close to the action. The sliding roof planned during the renovation was scrapped due to cost overruns. With a capacity of 43,000, Gdansk will host three Group C matches and one quarter-final.

How to get there:Fly direct from Dublin with Ryanair

Poznan

Stadion Miejski (City Stadium):Built in 1980, it has been renovated for a total of €160 million, doubling its capacity to 43,000. The stadium will host group matches during Euro 2012.

How to get there:Fly via Copenhagen.

Easier:Three hours by train from both Berlin and Warsaw