Councillor Michał Warchoł believes that the possibility of a private individual purchasing property at the club’s disposal is troubling for the residents of Raciborowice and calls for complete transparency in the mayor’s talks and negotiations with the private bidder. The councillor believes residents should have full insight into the private entity’s intentions regarding the municipal club.
Mayor Haniszewski confirmed that an offer to purchase the GKS Raciborowice club’s infrastructure had been submitted to the municipal office by a private entity, but said he would not disclose it because the entrepreneur had included a trade-secret clause in the offer, prohibiting the public disclosure of the information it contained. The offer was heatedly discussed at the most recent session of the Warta Bolesławiecka Municipal Council, held on October 24.
“It cannot be that there is some letter somewhere which, in my opinion, should be publicly available,” councillor Michał Warchoł said at the session. “We are talking about a private entity that wants to take over the club. I understand that the municipality may have no influence over this, but what will the consequences be later? Even now, children from Raciborowice and Jurków have to travel to Iwiny to be able to play sports. It is the municipality’s responsibility to enable young people to play sports. At present, steps have been taken so that even if a child wanted to run on the pitch (of the Raciborowice stadium—the editor’s note), they cannot, because the stadium is closed. And this is not about opposing a private investor who is putting up their own money, but about what the club’s future will be. Perhaps residents are thrilled today that someone is investing money (in the club—the editor’s note), but the future may be bleak. This man (MP Trans owner Marcin Pitera—the editor’s note) already withdrew from the club once, leaving it with nothing. Residents are also afraid of one more thing: that this is about fulfilling personal ambitions because someone has money. What matters is that there must be opportunities for these children. That is why I requested to see the letter. We, as residents, want to know what the objectives are. Today the mayor says it will not be sold, but what will happen in a year? In two years? And at present the children have nowhere to train,” Michał Warchoł added.
Mayor Mirosław Haniszewski categorically closed the subject of selling or even leasing the GKS Raciborowice infrastructure.
“Why approach the matter by saying that there is no youth team in Raciborowice and that it is Raciborowice’s fault that there is no youth team?” mayor Mirosław Haniszewski replied to the councillor. “Perhaps there will be a youth team from January? I explained to you that there is no problem, because facilities serving the municipality’s residents will not be sold or leased. Please do not say that the municipality is running away from something or is not taking care of children and young people. The municipality provides additional funds for work with children and young people. Let there be a little less jealousy of Raciborowice’s successes between us,” the mayor told the councillor, closing the subject at the session.
When asked by us whether he wanted to buy the GKS Raciborowice stadium for one million złotys, Marcin Pitera, owner of MP Trans and the club’s sponsor, replied that the matter was no longer current. In a conversation with istotne.pl, he stressed that he invests a quarter of a million złotys in the club annually and that the community should be pleased that there is someone willing to invest in sport.
“You can write that Marcin Pitera is interested in Raciborowice playing in the Ekstraklasa,” said the owner of MP Trans. “You can write about how much good has been done in Raciborowice. We have an automatic irrigation system, and the pitch undergoes regeneration three or four times a year. My employees write applications; we received some funding, and as the sponsor I provide the other part, supporting the development of football in the Bolesławiec County and Jelenia Góra district region without seeking anything in return. I allocate funds from my company for this. I think there are few people like that. I have great sentiment for the club in Raciborowice, which is why I am able to allocate more than PLN 200,000 to this club each year,” Marcin Pitera added.
We asked Marcin Pitera whether he wanted to become permanently involved with GKS Raciborowice.
“I will put it this way: for the club in Raciborowice to emerge and have an impact on national football, it is unfortunately unavoidable that the club be transformed into a limited liability company,” said Marcin Pitera. “The association would transfer its assets: football equipment, mainly. However, the property—the pitch, changing rooms and facilities—is owned by the municipality and will remain the municipality’s property. If we are thinking about football at a professional level, the club must operate as a company. It will be easier from a financial and tax perspective,” the entrepreneur added.
Both men—the entrepreneur Marcin Pitera and Mayor Mirosław Haniszewski—speak with one voice about what they believe is councillor Michał Warchoł’s jealousy of GKS Raciborowice’s successes.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” the councillor responds to these accusations. “I have been a sports activist for 30 years and I am also strongly connected with Raciborowice. I am a local patriot. I worked with Mr Pitera because he also loves football. He once left the Raciborowice club. Other activists came later, and I became involved with the club in Iwiny, where I train children. Mr Pitera returned to Raciborowice, and I heard that he wanted to buy the club outright. The mayor began working with Mr Pitera, and I was informed that the entrepreneur had offered him one million złotys to purchase the infrastructure. I am afraid that the club will stop operating for the residents. The stadium is already closed, and that is how it functions. All questions about transparency in the actions are interpreted as an attack by me on the club. That is not the case. Mr Pitera and I used to like each other very much,” the councillor said.
As proof, the councillor shows a photograph from 2007 in which he is holding Marcin Pitera in his arms, with both of them smiling sincerely at the camera.