the City of Warsaw dismissed the offer of the German consortium: HMB Stadien GmbH und Sportstättenbau with Wayss Schlüsselfertigbau und Freytag AG and Krupp Stahlbau Hannover GmbH, which had won the tender. Their project planned the construction of a building with a capacity of 30,500 to 35,000 spectators, with underground parking, and – a first at a Polish sports facility – was supposed to have a fully retractable roof. The City, however, did not accept the consortium's condition that all the funds for the construction be secured by the investor prior to the construction. The Polish side cancelled the deal. On 26 September 2006, Legia's new owners – ITI Group – during a meeting with the acting President of Warsaw Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, in the club premises presented their own idea of rebuilding the stadium. Their idea provided for the construction of the stadium in stages (so that the club could still play games during the construction), with the capacity between 31,800 and 34,000 seats (depending whether standing spaces were included). In November of that year, the club signed a 23-year lease with the City of Warsaw. In June 2007, the Warsaw City Council allocated 360 million PLN in funding (which later had to be increased to 460 million PLN) for the construction of the new stadium according to the club's proposed design. In April 2008 the then President of Warsaw Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz issued a permit for the construction of the stadium. On 12 November 2008 the investor – the City of Warsaw – signed an agreement with a consortium Polimex-Mostostal for the construction works. On 17 November 2008 the first stage of the new stadium construction began. This stage provided for the demolition and construction of three stands: the southern, the eastern, and the northern one. Works began by the demolition of the club's old premises and of the eastern stand (the famous "Żyleta"). The first stage was completed and taken over by the investor on 10 May 2010. The stadium was officially opened (with only three stands completed) by a match against Arsenal F.C. on 7 August 2010. The second stage of construction, which provided for the demolition and construction of the eastern stand (the main stand – so-called "Kryta") was completed and taken over by the investor on 10 May 2011. Stadium characteristics Overall The Stadion Wojska Polskiego at [3 Łazienkowska Street is located in Warsaw, in the