Struggling to arrive for kick off

The new Alphamega stadium in Limassol is great. But getting there can be a nightmare on match days. Fans and nearby residents lodge their complaints with Jonathan Shkurko

Just months after the official opening of the new Alphamega Stadium in Limassol, built to replace the ageing and problematic Tsirio, issues have already started to surface.

Whereas the actual stadium has been praised for its innovative outlook and comfort during football matches, controversy regarding its surroundings are growing by the week.

In particular, fans have complained that access to the stadium is proving challenging and local residents have reported unacceptable increased levels of traffic and noise during match days.

Photos online reflect the fact that the majority of streets leading to the stadium are yet to be finished, with construction sites complicating access to the venue and parking for visitors.

“Every weekend has been hell,” 62-year-old Marios Christodoulou told the Sunday Mail. “Aside from the noise, which is inevitable when one lives next to a stadium, we have nowhere to park our cars during weekends.

“On top of that, the area has become unsafe for residents due to the increased traffic. Everyone is speeding, especially people riding motorcycles. Living here is becoming dangerous.”

Another resident, 70-year-old Maria Kleanthous, also lamented the lack of proper policing in the area during sporting events.

“There are officers patrolling the stadium, but they never venture far from there,” she said. “Parking around the venue is very limited so people come to park in front of our houses.

“They shout, they use the area as their bathroom, I even saw fights happening at times. How long is this going to last?”

According to Kyriakos Hadjikyriakos, a former president of Aris, one of the three clubs utilising the stadium along with Ael and Apollon, now involved in the construction works surrounding the venue, the first phase for the completion of the road network linking it to highway was initially scheduled to be March 30.

“There were, however, delays,” he admitted during an interview with Super Sport FM. “The matter was out of our hands. “

Hadjikyriakos added that the next two phases will also see three additional highway exits leading to the Alphamega Stadium, one of which will be for people coming from Paphos.

On top of that, he hinted that a plan for an additional parking area is currently being discussed, since, according to him, the current one adjacent to the stadium fits only 1,000 cars, while the venue has a capacity of 11,000.

“Based on the contracts stipulated with the construction companies, the entire project should be completed by early 2024”.

Hadjikyriakos said that, aside from the streets leading to the stadium, the first phase involved the construction of pavements, pedestrian crossings and street lighting.

“Even taking the delay into account, we are on track with the timeline we set and construction works are proceeding at a satisfactory pace.”

Despite the good intentions, however, fans and residents alike are exasperated by the slow pace of the ongoing construction works.

“And with good reason. The entire infrastructure, including roads and parking areas should be completed way before inaugurating such a venue,” architect Christis Loizides told the Sunday Mail.

Loizides, a long-time expert on such matters, argued that the reason behind the delays can be linked to the fact that several players are involved in the works.

“Different entities are dealing with the completion of the infrastructure, as well as different ministries and governmental departments,” he said, calling the situation preposterous.

“The real problem is the lack of coordination among parties involved, which resulted in unfinished streets, limited available parking and general inconveniences for fans and residents alike.”

Loizides also questioned whether the environmental studies necessary for the stadium project to be approved and for works to begin were actually taken into account.

“It seems that the people involved in building the stadium did not care that work was not going to be finished before it was officially inaugurated,” he said.

“Along with them, different government departments and ministries did not use due diligence to make sure that all the projects tangent to the stadium were carried out in parallel.”

Last but not least, fans are also affected by the lack of infrastructure around Alphamega Stadium, particularly travelling supporters, whose access to the stadium consists of one four-kilometre narrow road often left unsupervised.

“I left Nicosia two and a half hours before the kickoff of a match and I only arrived minutes before the end of the first half,” Petros Kyriacou, a football fan living in Engomi told the Sunday Mail.

“This cannot happen. What good does it make to have a brand new stadium and making it impossible to arrive at the games on time?”