Split mayor, Ivica Puljak, confirmed on Thursday that the private-owned company which manages Spaladium Arena, the city's largest multi-purpose sports hall, owes 23 million kuna (€3 million) in utility bills, a debt which city authorities cannot write off.

In response to questions from councilors during a meeting of the city council Puljak said that the debt could not be written off as “that would mean that city authorities are giving preferential treatment to a private company,” which, he said, amounted to a criminal offence.

Puljak added that he would like to see the completion of the entire Spaladium Arena project, which in its original plan included a tower and parking space. Spaladium Arena was built for the 2009 World Handball Championships hosted by Croatia.

“However, Spaladium Arena is a private-owned project and is the responsibility of a private company and banks that financed it,” Puljak said. Asked about media speculation that the city charges the Spaladium Arena ten times more for utility services compared to what capital Zagreb charges to Zagreb Arena – also built for the 2009 championships – Puljak said that he would provide an answer to that question in writing.

The 2022 European Water Polo Championships were recently held in Spaladium Arena. After the competition, media ran stories saying that this multi-purpose hall could soon be shut down due to piling debts for electricity and other utility bills.

The company running the venue, Sportski Grad TPN, went into official receivership in late 2014, and proceedings are still ongoing.