Poland and Ukraine have put their 2012
European Championship preparations back on track after months of speculation
that UEFA could strip them of the football tournament -- although recent visits
to host cities reveal the giant task that lies ahead.
The jubilation
that erupted in Poland and Ukraine after UEFA's April 2007 decision to award
them the event evaporated last year as construction delays with stadiums,
roads, airports and hotels in both countries fueled reports that UEFA could
hand the tournament to a backup host -- possibly Italy, Germany or Scotland.
But those
concerns have eased following a successful meeting with UEFA president Michel
Platini in December, after which the former France
star said he has "full confidence in Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine."
While
progress has been made, recent visits by Associated Press reporters to five of
the eight planned host cities indicate both eastern European states still have
much to do.
With 3
years to go, Ukraine
has the tougher task, a job made all the more difficult by rampant corruption,
poor management and endless political turmoil.
Evhen
Chervonenko, the former head of the country's 2012 organizing committee, said
the tournament "is one of our great chances to turn Ukraine into a
European country, but with each day we lose these chances and risk losing this
opportunity forever."
Preparations
in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, nestled in rolling hills about 70
kilometers (45 miles) from the Polish border, lag farthest behind and show just
how far Ukraine has to go to reach western European levels.
A
crumbling, one-lane road riddled with potholes runs from the border to Lviv,
winding though towns and villages along the way. Chickens peck at the muddy
shoulder of the road in some spots, while in others dogs wander across the
pavement.
The
city's airport dates from the late 1950s. The main waiting lounge is no larger
than a tennis court and doesn't have a bathroom.
Work has
begun, however, on a new 33,000-seat stadium near the city's southern bypass
that provides easy access to the main road east to Kiev.
Preparations
are more advanced in Ukraine's
three other host cities -- Kiev,
Donestk and Dnipropetrovsk -- although the trio are all grappling with at least
one of the problems that plagues Lviv.
In the
capital Kiev,
after a nearly yearlong delay, work has finally begun on a $260 million
(euro200 million) overhaul of the Olympic Stadium, which is slated to finish in
2010 and be launched in 2011.
"Ukraine has come out of the crisis zone in
preparing the Kiev
stadium," said Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Vasyunyk, who is in charge of
the Euro 2012 preparations.
The venue
is to host the tournament's final, and UEFA has warned without a renovated
stadium Ukraine
will not co-host Euro 2012.
Donetsk already boasts a sparkling new
stadium built by the owner of a local club, while Dnipropetrovsk should finish
its stadium in the coming months.
But badly
needed upgrades to Ukraine's
infrastructure, including airports, roads and hotels, pose the greatest
challenge.
The
country has to add or modernize runways and build new terminals in all of the
host cities. Construction work is already under way at Kiev's
two airports and in Donetsk,
but the Lviv landing strip and terminal is still on the drawing board.
The
country has also vowed to upgrade thousands of kilometers (miles) of
dilapidated roads that outside of the main cities are often little more than
single-lane ribbons, cracked and crumbling.
Ukraine's underdeveloped hotel system is still
dominated by shabby and expensive Soviet-era hotels, few of which currently
accept credit cards.
Vasyunyk
said the country has to build and renovate a total of 300 hotels, about 100 of
which are still being designed. But the former head of Ukraine's organizing
committee, Yevhen Chervonenko, said that construction of 80 percent of the
hotels that need to be built has been frozen due to the financial crisis.
Ukrainian
officials estimate the entire project will cost around $30 billion -- 1/3
coming from state coffers and the rest from private investors.
But the
world financial turmoil has devastated Ukraine's economy, raising concerns
the country may not be able to raise the necessary funds. Ukraine's
currency, the hryvna, has lost about 40 percent of its value since September,
the banking sector lies in tatters and the economy is plunging into deep
recession.
The
situation is further complicated by a bitter power struggle between Prime
Minister Julia Tymoshenko and her former political ally, President Viktor
Yushchenko. The two leaders are likely opponents in presidential elections
expected in late 2009 or early 2010, and both are eager to take credit for Euro
2012 and control the vast funds set aside for the project.
Despite
the enormous challenges, Vasyunyk vowed Ukraine will be on time:
"We'll make sure that all objects are ready."
By Ryan
Lucas, Associated Press Writer
USA Today
