The demolished Republican Stadium is once again at the center of debate, as the Communist-Socialist Bloc held a rally on Friday to protest the government’s decision to sell the 5.9 hectares lot in central Chisinau to the United States so that it could build a new embassy there.

The opposition group insists that the old stadium, or what is left of it, should remain in state property, and accuses the government of hiding information related to the transaction.

“What was once started by Plahotniuc continues today. We were able to legislatively return the Republican Stadium into state property. I believe and hope that the United States Embassy can reach consensus with the Moldovan authorities in identifying another piece of land to build a new headquarters. The Chisinau City Hall even said it would rather build a park there. And we, too, think it’s best that a structure with a social purpose should be built in place of the stadium. I have nothing against the United States Embassy, but there are a lot of places where they could build”, Com-Soc lawmaker Grigore Novac told an evening talk show on Moldova 1.

In reply, PAS lawmaker Lilian Carp noted that the deal with the Embassy involves not only building a new embassy, but also re-landscaping and beautifying the entire block. He also remarked that the Stadium wouldn’t be in ruins today hadn’t the Communist government decided to demolish it back in 2007.

“The Government will announce the details of this deal (…) What the US Embassy says is that there will not only be an embassy, but also a park. It will be a social area really. In fact, this is exactly what the residents of Chisinau are asking, because there is no park in that area at present. (…) As concerns the Republic Stadium, a feasibility study should have been carried out first, construction costs had to be estimated, funds had to be budgeted, decisions made whether to go for a public-private partnership or a state sponsored project, but not demolish it first and then see what happens”, said Carp.

Political pundit Anatol Țăranu thinks that the issue is being inflated by “anti-American” parties and that, considering the “massive support” offered by the United States to Moldova since its independence, selling this lot was no less than a “gesture of gratitude”.

“The United States has helped us a lot all these years. We have received almost $2 billion from American taxpayers. This piece of land, which is in complete ruins, will remain in ruins for many more years. The problem is that in our society someone is trying to stoke people’s anti-American sentiments, sentiments that have been cultivated for decades. The United States will rebuild this area in record time, erecting a construction that respects Chisinau’s architectural character, because they know how to respect standards”, said Țăranu.

The transaction was initiated by the Democratic government in 2018. In 2020, the Socialist government reversed the deal in Parliament, but the Constitutional Court later invalidated the reversal.