Article by Andrei Crăiţoiu – Published on Wednesday, 01 April 2026, 10:27 / Updated on Wednesday, 01 April 2026 10:27
Rebuilt from scratch with almost 95 million euros, the Steaua stadium has a disastrous financial situation, almost four years after its inauguration! The salaries of the employees in Ghencea are the main chapter where the little money that enters the accounting goes. The amounts are significant.
Inaugurated with great pomp on July 7, 2021, with the OFK Belgrade friendly, clearly won by the hosts, score 6-0, the arena on Ghencea Boulevard loses money every day. What does money mean? Millions and millions of euros!
Modest income, huge expenses
According to the data requested by GSP.RO and provided by the Ministry of National Defense, in the period 2021-2025 the stadium generated total revenues of only 2.46 million euroswhile expenses reached 9.33 million euros.
The difference is an important one: a loss of almost 7 million euros, fully covered by public money!
The best year for the stadium was in 2024. Then almost 830,000 euros entered the arena's accounts.
The biggest expenses were recorded last year, with an accounting loss of 2.24 million euros.
What is happening there now is a mockery to every person in Romania. That stadium is a modern stadium, a new stadium, a beautiful stadium. It does not produce money because the National Arena, which is bigger, was rented for 35,000 euros. And this stadium, 45,000 euros had been paid for by the ministry. I mean, they put an extra 10,000 euros on it so that no one would come to rent us, lest it start to breathe
Radu Miruță, Minister of Defense (on Prima TV)
The financial situation in the years 2021-2025 for the Steaua stadium
|
THE YEAR |
INCOME |
EXPENSES |
Indicative BALANCE SHEET |
|
2021 |
225,000 euros |
1,025,000 euros |
-800,000 euros |
|
2022 |
257,000 |
2,153,000 |
-1,896,000 |
|
2023 |
638,000 |
2,042,000 |
-1,404,000 |
|
2024 |
828,000 |
1,868,000 |
-1,040,000 |
|
2025 |
510,000 |
2,240,000 |
-1,730,000 |
|
TOTAL |
2,458,000 euros |
9,328,000 euros |
-6,870,000 |
Where does the money go? Employees are champions!
The Minister of Defense, Radu Miruță, spoke recently, in an intervention for Euronews, about the problems at Steaua.
“We have asked for a report by the Control Body and the Audit Directorate to see a fair X-ray of the problems there,” the minister said.
Then he referred strictly to money: “There are many indicators that show problems. From spending public money to poor management.”
Steaua Stadium
Returning to expenses. Most of the money goes to the employees. Only the salaries of the last five years mean 4.24 million euros! Given that the arena produced only 2.46 million euros!
Salary analysis for 2021-2005
|
THE YEAR |
SALARY AMOUNT |
|
2021 |
690,000 euros |
|
2022 |
750,000 |
|
2023 |
818,000 |
|
2024 |
984,000 |
|
2025 |
994,000 |
|
TOTAL |
4,236,000 euros |
Money for utilities and maintenance
Stadium employee salaries are the largest cost category, almost double the stadium's total revenue!
Then there are the utilities of 3.6 million euros and 1.5 million euros for the maintenance and upkeep of the arena.
Obviously, the running costs far exceed the arena's ability to generate its own revenue.
How much did the Romanian state spend on the Ghencea stadium
|
THE YEAR |
UTILITIES |
MAINTENANCE |
|
2021 |
236,000 euros |
100,000 euros |
|
2022 |
1,090,000 |
312,000 |
|
2023 |
833,000 |
392,000 |
|
2024 |
503,000 |
381,000 |
|
2025 |
934,000 |
313,000 |
|
TOTAL |
3,596,000 euros |
1,498,000 euros |
The official explanation: a multifunctional complex
In an official response, the Ministry of Defense emphasizes that the stadium does not exclusively serve football. And “it represents a multi-functional sports complex, which serves the entire activity of the club, not just the football team, being used by several sports departments, such as wrestling, judo, table tennis, archery, shooting, boxing and weightlifting”.
Steaua stadium fitness room
Also, the infrastructure includes: training rooms used daily by athletes, physical recovery area (saunas, recovery pool), camp accommodation, medical office, media production studios, as well as official store, aspects that determine the distribution of expenses at the level of several sports and administrative activities.
The rental fee is changed
Although the stadium belongs to Steaua, in full conflict with FCSB, the audience record of the new arena belongs precisely to the team patronized by Gigi Becali.
On August 13, 2024, at the FCSB – Sparta Prague match, 28,875 spectators were present, the largest number recorded at the new Ghencea.
Radu Miruta
And because the stadium is empty and no matches take place on it, the minister of MApN, Radu Miruță, is determined to take quick and radical measures.
“We have decided to reduce the rent price. The number of seats is calculated proportionally. We proposed that it be a little cheaper, if you want, like the offer: we put it cheaper so that people start coming there”, he explained to Prima TV.
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