The football field in the town of Noyemberyan reminds one of an unmowed, overgrown field more than anything else. The rusty gate encircling the field is passable to animals and humans alike. I make my way forward along a narrow path through the tall grass and briar patches. There’s a huge mound of dirt by one of the goalposts; the remnants of construction work done a few years back. Garbage is strewn along one of the sidelines, tossed there by the town’s commercial stores. Most of it is burned there on the spot. This football field, located in one of the town’s most visible sites, is indeed an eyesore. Up until the mid 1990’s, the top football teams of Armenia played matches here. Noyemberyan’s “Aznavour” club held a mid-level spot in Armenia’s top league at the time. Today, the town has no club playing in the country’s premier or first leagues. The town’s youth football team, which plays in Armenia’s championship league, has been forced to play games at the fields of the neighboring villages of Haghtanak and Koghb for the past two years. The reason is the construction work being done on the Noyemberyan field now into its third year and with no end in sight. In 2007, 9.8 billion AMD was allocated from the national reserve budget to the Marzes to tackle their most urgent problems. The Tavoush Regional Administration received 896.8 million of the pie. The presidential elections lay ahead and the authorities were in desperate need of votes. It was necessary to show the electorate that the national government truly cared about the pressing needs of the people. “Hayk and Sons” win work tender With the funds allocated by the government, the town of Noyemberyan completed three projects. According to one of them, the football field was to be renovated. 50 million AMD was allocated for the project. The production cooperative of “Hayk and Sons” won the work bid with a tender of 48 million AMD. Work began and the field was widened by six meters to correspond to football regulations. A new support wall was erected and a 27 meter long and six meter wide structure was built. This was to house the locker rooms and two small gyms. The third floor of the building was envisaged as an open-air viewing stand, under a high vaulted roof, where visiting dignitaries and football officials could follow the matches on the field below. Construction was completed at the end of 2007. But what did 48 million AMD buy? The support wall and the building were finished. However, only the walls of the building are standing. There is open space between the floors. Take one false step on the stairs and you’ll tumble down below. The cement ceiling on the second floor only partially exists. The place looks more like some ruined building since there’s no roof, doors or windows. What locker rooms? What gyms? One can truly state that this construction project was never fully completed. All it takes is one look to come to this conclusion. What has 48 million AMD bought? When I asked Noyemberyan Mayor Vanoush Amirkhanyan a few months back about the fate of this construction site, he replied that the work was to be completed in a few stages. Mayor Amirkhanyan said that 76 million AMD was budgeted for the second stage of the work this year. Such a huge sum raised more than a few doubts given that the government has had to review a number of projects in light of the financial crisis. My suspicions were validated. In the end, only 28 million AMD was allocated for the second stage of renovation. A competitive tender took place on July 6, 2009. On July 17, it was announced that the firm “Hayk and Sons” once again came out on top. Another 28 million allocated Traditionally, Ijevan-based construction companies usually win the bids for work in Noyemberyan financed by the state government. We should note that the work order for the building at the football field was given by the Tavoush Regional Administration. I asked Zhora Ghazoumyan, Director of “Hayk and Sons”, what work the firm intended to complete with 28 million AMD. He replied that the funds would be used to remove the mounds of dirt left over from the previous work, the building’s roof would be completed and structure’s interior would be finished. He argued that such measures needed to be taken because the rains were damaging the uncovered structure and that the building needed to be saved. The second stage of construction will soon begin. Even if this next stage is successfully completed and the building saved, the field itself still won’t be for use. The field needs to be leveled and mowed. Enclosures for the teams and coaches must be built along the sidelines and seats must be built for the fans. The site is such that stands can only be built on one side of the field, on a steep slope; under the commercial stalls and sops on the main Yerevan road. This means that these dilapidated huts and trailers, supported by old pipes, must be replaced by something a bit more presentable. Also, measures must be taken to put a halt to commercial rubbish, food leftovers and plastic bags being tossed onto the open field below. While the state government claims that 76 million AMD has been allocated to solving the urgent problem of the football field, it has yet to clarify, for itself, what shape the solution will take, how long it will take and how much more money it will take. Just how many more years, money and construction stages will it take to build a small but normal football stadium in this border town. As the saying goes – Instead of fashioning an eyebrow they plucked out an eye. The town’s only sports field has become grazing land for cows and sheep. The kids of Noyemberyan must now travel to nearby villages to play their inter-town rivalries.