Romania’s first multifunctional velodrome to be built in Craiova after EUR 54 mln investment

The city of Craiova, in southern Romania, is set to have the only multifunctional velodrome in the country. The facility will be part of a complex with a built-up area of over 11,000 square meters and a capacity of more than 8,000 people.

The arena will be open to the community, with sports, education, and rehabilitation programs for children, young people, the elderly, and people with disabilities. In addition to the cycling track and indoor athletics arena, the space will be adaptable for football, basketball, tennis, or volleyball competitions.

The new complex will also include therapy pools, massage rooms, a sauna, a jacuzzi, exhibition spaces, as well as areas for meetings and educational activities.

The facility is set to receive EUR 39 million in non-reimbursable European funding, out of a total value of EUR 54 million, according to the press release.

The contract for the velodrome was signed on Tuesday, October 27, at the Dolj County Council by Investments and European Projects minister Alexandru-Mihai Ghigiu, Dolj County Council president Cosmin Vasile, and South-West Oltenia Regional Development Agency director general Stelian Bărăgan, in the presence of Craiova mayor Lia Olguța Vasilescu and Andrei Chivu, director general of the Management Authority for the Just Transition Programme.

The works began in the autumn of 2024, using funds from the Dolj County Council’s own budget. With the signing of the contract, the investment now enters the European funding phase, and the completion deadline is May 2028.

“It is a unique project because it is the only indoor velodrome in Romania. It is the only hall that allows for an internationally certified athletics track and also provides the surface needed to host sporting competitions at the level of the International Association of Athletics Federations,” Dolj County Council president Cosmin Vasile said, cited by Euronews Romania.