The Tel Aviv municipality is demanding that the World Maccabi Federation and Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club vacate the 33-dunam (8.25-acre) Maccabiah Stadium in north Tel Aviv. Last week, the municipality filed for a summary procedure with the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court. The subject of the case is the Maccabiah Stadium, built in 1932 for the first Maccabiah Games, and the site of local, national and international football games for decades. Atarim Project Development Corp. Tel-Aviv Jaffa wants the site for its development and construction plans.
The Tel Aviv municipality claims that the British Mandatory government owned the land, and leased it to the municipality in a long-term lease. The municipality sublet the land to the World Maccabi Federation in 1932 for a fixed period. The British High Commissioners signed one of the leases. The municipality claims that lease expired decades ago, but the stadium was never returned. The state took over ownership of the land after independence in 1948, and transferred it to Atarim in 1973.
Over the years, the Tel Aviv municipality has demanded that Maccabi return the lot, to no avail. An agreement was signed in October 1978, under which Maccabi promised to vacate the site by July 1980 for 5.65 million Israeli lira. Maccabi used the proceeds to buy a 75-dunam (18.75-acre) lot near the Yarkon River from the municipal company Hayarkon for a sports center. Maccabi promised that the sports center would be completed by 1983. The sports center has never been built. The municipality claims that Maccabi fundamentally violated its agreements with the municipality.
In November 1993, Maccabi told then Tel Aviv Mayor Roni Milo, "We have no problem with vacating the stadium. We're ready to vacate it within days."
In 1995, Maccabi promised in writing to vacate the Maccabiah Stadium within months of receiving a demand to do so. The municipality sent the demand, but the stadium was not vacated.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on December 19, 2004