Residents of the city of Talgar in the Almaty region have sent a collective appeal to the regional mayor, demanding repairs to the only «Zhasstar» stadium. At the same time, residents expressed disagreement with the possible transfer of the facility into private hands.
According to the Instagram page «Kris_p_talgar», two open meetings were previously held, at which the majority of Talgar residents voted against transferring the facility to private entities.
However, the authors of the post claim that on 5 May, a closed meeting was held in the akimat building with the participation of members of the so-called «Public Council», and residents were not allowed to take part in the discussion.
«It seems that someone very "powerful" has set their sights on this facility, or there is "serious money" involved», the post speculates.
According to the residents of Talgar, this is not an abandoned structure. The «Zhasstar» stadium was built in 2013, has a reinforced concrete structure and is in a technically satisfactory condition. However, in all the time it has been in use, the facility has never even had basic cosmetic repairs, which explains its shabby appearance.
Residents are also expressing dissatisfaction with the financial priorities of the local authorities. For example, they claim that more than 400 million tenge was allocated for the construction of a 300-metre walking area (an «arbat with benches»), while the mayor had previously stated that there would be no funds for stadium repairs for at least another 10 years.
It is also noted that the stadium was previously on the balance sheet of the children's and youth sports school (CYS school), but was subsequently transferred to the management of the akimat.
Meanwhile, the Almaty region akimat commented on the video appeal from Talgar residents. According to Tengrinews.kz, citing the department's press service, the «Zhasstar» stadium is not going to be sold or transferred into private ownership. It was explained that the sports facility is planned to be reconstructed with the attraction of investment.
«Due to the dilapidated condition of the facility, local executive bodies proposed temporarily transferring it into trust management for a period of 39 years without the right of purchase. This fully complies with the law and will allow attracting private investment for the development of sports and cultural infrastructure, while reducing the burden on the budget», the akimat reported.
The akimat stated that information about the sale of the stadium or its transfer into private ownership is false.
«On the initiative of the akimat, public hearings were held on 15 March, 5 April and 5 May 2025 at secondary school No. 6 with the participation of residents, government agencies, investors and activists. The issue is at the discussion stage, taking into account all expressed opinions. Decisions will be made openly and transparently», the department concluded.