The mayor of Pitești, Cristian Gentea, is overjoyed after the National Investment Company gave the green light for the start of work on the “Nicolae Dobrin” arena, demolished as early as the fall of 2023. Exclusively for GSP.ro, the mayor spoke about what's next for his new stadium FC Argesexplaining the campaign he has been running for the last few months in the rush to get co-financing.
January 19, 2026 is not a historical date only for Dinamo. And Pitesti, the city of the great Dobrin, can start the countdown, with the works on the construction site in Trivale going to start in the first weeks of next year.
In parallel with the news of the construction of the new “Dinamo”, CNI today made the announcement expected for more than two years by FC Argeș, a club forced to play its home matches in Mioveni.
In an interview given to Gazeta on the eve of Christmas Eve, Cristian Gentea made several clarifications regarding the deadline for the completion of the stadium and the procedures that follow, confessing in the end that he is waiting for the Romanian national team in Trivale.
The mayor of Pitești, after the news received from the CNI: “It was an ordeal! They said it would never be done”
“Do you realize how I was all this time? There were many around Pitesti who all the time they said that it is never done, that we demolished it and that it remains like that, that we left them without a stadium. It was an ordeal, I've been struggling for five years.
It's an administrative order that Minister Attila Cseke sent us today, he himself gave it to me.
I immediately spoke with Mr. Erbașu, and he was very happy, he told me that immediately after the New Year he is coming to Pitesti. On January 19, Mr. Director Diaconu (no part of the executive management of CNI), together with the CNI representatives and the builder will meet in Pitesti to see the location.
The contract initialed by CNI
You see, it says that the execution begins on January 19. Deadline? 26 months”.
The people continued:
“This co-financing ordinance was given… There are many of my colleagues, for example the mayor of Hunedoara (No. Dan Boboutanu)who always says that this co-financing is not right, because it was a signed contract (no regarding the full financing by the Government, as originally provided). But in the end, he will do the same thing as us, he will have nothing to do. That's why I was so vocal….
I agreed to the co-financing, I approved, I had the money, I also signed the agreement with the CNI last week and it seemed to me that they were procrastinating. I didn't understand why, especially since Mr. Bolojan said that “we want stadiums, but we don't have teams”. I don't think that was the case for Pitesti.
[Ce v-ați dori? Naționala la Pitești sau FC Argeș evoluând acolo în cupele europene?] I'm sure we'll have both! And FC Argeș will play here in the European cups, but the national team will also play in Pitesti”, stated Gentea, exclusively for GSP.ro.
The mayor of Gentea, with Dani Coman / Photo source: Facebook@ FC Argeș
In Constanța, there is the same builder, Mr. Erbașu, only the technical project is not ready. I kept in touch with the mayor of Constanța, Chițac, I understood that they have some problems on the technical, design side. I know what it means, how long it takes from the start of the demolition until you finish the demolition, until the Government Decision is given with the technical-economic indicators. It's such a long road…
– Cristian Gentea, mayor of Pitesti, for GSP.ro
After long delays regarding the stadium situation, things have been unlocked in recent months. After the National Investment Company had asked the local authorities for a 25% co-financing so that the works could start, the Pitesti City Council voted in October for the co-financing project, even if there were also votes against it among the local councilors.
What facilities will the new “Nicolae Dobrin” stadium have:
- Capacity: Approximately 15,000 seats.
- standard: Aimed to be a UEFA 4-star stadium by modern standards.
- Multifunctionality: Designed for football, but also for other events (concerts, conferences).
- Services: Retail spaces, restaurants, public service areas.
- Modern infrastructure: Changing rooms, press facilities, protocol area, etc
They chose co-financing!
Over the last few months, Pitesti has been looking for alternative financing solutions for the construction of the new home of FC Argeș.
Seeing that the authority measures of the Bolojan government also target the stadium in Pitesti, the city hall decided to contribute substantially, from its own funds, to the construction of the arena in Trivale, a requirement also put on the wall by the National Investment Company so that the works can start as soon as possible.
We have stadiums in Romania that have never been filled since they were completed, where the town halls promised to carry the utilities, they didn't, the whole state did. We are in a situation where we don't have enough money to solve the vital problems that we addressed before, but, of course, we have to make the stadiums hyper-dimensioned and very important for the local community. It's very good, but it seems to me a matter of fair play.
And then I'll give you an example: we have five stadiums and we introduce a 25% co-financing. What will we have? If we fund four, we have one free, one extra. We may have many more.
– Ilie Bolojan, Prime Minister of Romania, in June
