Has Hapoel Haifa's 60 years of activity at Kiryat Haim Stadium come to an end?
For about six decades the Hapoel Haifa soccer team has been using the Kiryat Haim Stadium and running a soccer school for teenagers.
The Histadrut, which leases the stadium from KKL-Junk, appealed to the court demanding that the team be vacated from the stadium to allow it to use it for its needs. Judge Keren Margolin-Feldman ruled that Hapoel Haifa must vacate the stadium by 15/08/2023.
In her decision, the judge stated that since the Histadrut intends to use the stadium for the promotion of youth and the encouragement of sports, accepting the lawsuit will not result in a breach of obligations towards the National Fund for Israel.
A three-year legal battle
The conflict between the Histadrut and Hapoel Haifa has been going on for 3 years, since the end of the contract between the parties. During the contract period, Hapoel Haifa paid the taxes for the stadium, but before the signing of the new agreement, the Histadrut decided to demand from the team a fixed monthly payment for its use. When Behpoel refused the request, the Histadrut turned to the court, in order to assist it in demanding the group's eviction.
'Any child who wants to - will be able to play in the stadium'
CEO of the sports association "The League for Haifa Jobs", Shafra Antavi, said, after being present at the last hearing on the matter, in court: "The judge tried to find a way to mediate. Basically, in 2020, Hapoel Haifa's contract on the field ended. They tried to negotiate with them regarding the lease of the field, but it didn't work, That's why it came to legal courts."
"Every decision - for the benefit of the children"
Antabi continues: "In the last ruling, it was decided that on 15/08/23 the team must vacate the field. But we made a commitment to Hapoel Haifa, and I told Yoav Katz, the owner of the team, that I will not give up any child who wants to play football and that any decision made regarding the place will be in favor of Those children."
Antabi also said: "I would like to turn the place into a sports center, to renovate and develop the place, after it has been neglected for many years. Our goal is not financial, but that as many groups as possible can enjoy the place. There will be a five-year plan, and together with professionals we will understand the needs, determine the plans And we will build a vision for the place, when the Histadrut will be with us for the benefit of providing the best service to as many Katargel and soccer teams as possible in the Kiryat and Haifa area."
'Thousands of athletes in 16 sports'
"Today I go out to rent halls for my athletes, even though the stadium belongs to the Histadrut. I have 2,700 athletes in 16 different sports. The Histadrut is taking the property back for itself in order to serve as many children, teenagers and adults as possible. We will renovate and add lighting .
The children of Hapoel Haifa will also take part in the matter. They will get court hours. When we open the place, many more people will be able to enjoy the field. My agenda is very social."
"Expulsion from Kiryat Haim is a death sentence for the club"
The club's CEO, Itai Rak, said today about the decision:
"We are currently in talks with them on the matter. We will not give up our rights, Kiryat Haim Stadium is our home and we are in the process of exhausting our rights.
Just adding: We have been on the field for close to 60 years, the team itself is 100 years old, of which 60 years in Kiryat Haim. The Histadrut received the rights to the land in order to give it to Hapoel Haifa. They have now decided to take legal action. We are working to reach an understanding.
The expulsion of Hapoel Haifa from Kiryat Haim is a death sentence for the club, so we are trying to come to an understanding. We won't be able to run youth departments nor an adult team and we don't want to get there. The activity of the youth department is held in the stadium. We also train at Beit Nagler in Kiryat Haim from time to time."
A mythological stadium.
I have been a fan of Hapoel Haifa since the late seventies, the stadium was the symbol, the terror of the visiting teams was a different game experience than today, but since Katz arrived, the place has been neglected to the point of being unfit for use, partially renovated and again neglected and again partially renovated patches upon patches in my opinion it should be flattened and a stadium built of the Kiryat including training grounds for the benefit of all the Kiryat Yam Bialik and Haim and the Hapoel Haifa will be the mother team The stadium will be similar to Acre or Nesher with a little more places for the fans Also there will again be recruiting super donors for the project such as Mash Ofer or Shari Arison or some big bank
Kiryat Haim Stadium was at the time the second largest stadium in Israel (after Ramat Gan Stadium)
It was the home field of the luxury team Hapoel Kiryat Haim, which hosted excellent league games and state cup games against the elite teams of the time.
The working meeting was held there and in Ramat Gan
The country's leaders came to speak at it
Local and state events were celebrated there.
It is good that the Histadrut wants to return Atara to its former glory
The players were always local, there was camaraderie, there was a living soul in the club, they knew how to enjoy the ball, they knew how to sweat for the club and the crowd today, there are no such things as a fan of the club, I am disappointed, I need to hang up my shoes and close the complex for the benefit of real estate, the place looks deserted from all directions, looks bad
Probably what is eating the Histadrut is the entry of private investors into Israeli football... Shahar, the late Shapira, Yoav Katz, Alona Barkat, Izzy Shirtzky, etc. and as a result the teams were released from the sports centers and the Hapoalim councils and the Histadrut.
After all, if Hapoel Haifa had remained under the control and funding of the Hapoel Center and the Haifa Workers' Council, they would not have required the team to vacate what was left of D'Alessandro Stadium (the exact name of Kiryat Haim Stadium). Hapoel Haifa was based in Kiryat Haim from 1966, where its home stadium was, and most of the team's stars are Kiryat Haim children who trained there since they were children, Rao Tal Benin, Maxim Plekoshchenko and others.
Mythological stadium, it's time to move forward and develop it