Stadium progress 'breathtaking'

UEFA has described the progress made in building the stadiums for next summer's UEFA EURO 2004™ final round in Portugal as a "breathtaking achievement".

Inspection visit
The comment was made by the chairman of the UEFA Stadia and Security Committee, Ernie Walker, during a four-day inspection visit of the ten stadiums which will host matches in next year's tournament.

'Major accomplishment'
"That ten stadiums, seven brand new and three completely refurbished, could be delivered in such a short time is a breathtaking achievement on the part of everyone involved in Portugal," Mr Walker said. "This is a major accomplishment on a scale never seen before in European football. There is still work to be done and we have identified the follow-up that is needed, but the overall progress is very impressive and most encouraging."

Ready by September
UEFA said on Wednesday that the José Alvalade stadium in Lisbon and the stadiums in Coimbra, Aveiro and Guimarães would be completed and operational by 30 September this year. The final preparations are currently nearing completion at tha Algarve Stadium, the Da Luz stadium in Lisbon, the Dragão Stadium and Bessa Stadium in Porto, and the venues at Leiria and Braga.

September review
UEFA said that it would review the status of all stadium projects on 30 September. It emphasised that those which did not meet the deadline in a satisfactory manner "will be required to explain their position and give a completion date".