President of the Republic at the ceremonial opening of the tennis complex where the “Srpska Open” tournament will be held
The President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik attended tonight, in Banja Luka, the ceremonial opening of the tennis complex where the “Srpska Open” tournament will be held.
The President of the Republic said that the opening of the tennis complex in Banja Luka, where the “Srpska Open” tournament will be held, is a proof of the ability of the republican and city institutions to construct a facility that is the pride of the city and the Republic in a short period of time.
“All the efforts we put in and the doubts end up this way, thus, this is a proof of our ability. Banja Luka and the Republic of Srpska deserve this”, said the President Dodik at the official opening of the tennis complex.
The President of the Republic added that everything around the complex has been built in recent years, which means that Banja Luka is growing and it is stronger. It is in a position to deserve such a tournament.
“Banja Luka and Srpska will not stop here, we go to other victories and tournaments”, said the President Dodik and thanked everyone who helped make this project a reality, above all the Đoković family and Novak Đoković, who promised to come here to play, and since they believed in Banja Luka and Srpska.
The President of the Republic emphasized that Srpska has great tennis players such as Bojan Vujić and tennis referee Ozren Đurđević, thanks to whose successes today Banja Luka and Srpska are in a position to have such a tournament.
The President Dodik added that many people did not believe in this success, but that the fact is that the tournament starts on Sunday, April 16th and ends on April 23rd.
“We will try to make this a tradition, but it will be difficult, because it does not depend only on us. Tennis is a sport of the rich and some richer ones will certainly offer far more than we can, but we will give our best”, said the President Dodik.
The President of the Republic stated that the Government of the Republic of Srpska invested BAM 34 million for this building, and together with the City, it leaves the mark of the success of a time.
“Some will say we could have done something else. Yes, we could. But, when I previously tried to get the strongest media companies in the world to make a promotional film about the Republic of Srpska, and they would not do it for less than five minutes, for which, for example, CNN requested 60 million dollars. However, this tournament will not only be five minutes on all media stations covering sports, but far more. What does this mean for promotion? Let us not always look at everything in one irrelevant way, let us look at it as a joint success”, said the President Dodik.
The President of Srpska said that he was sorry that not everyone who was interested could get the tickets, but that a bigger complex would certainly have been built if it had been possible.
“Two hundred thousand applications for tickets show the interest and how difficult it is to provide access, but the VIP seats that have been prepared for statesmen will be intended for the 16 best students of our faculties”, it was pointed out by the President Dodik and added that his guests at the tournament will be around 30 best students of the final grade of primary and secondary schools from Banja Luka and the surrounding area.
“We have to do everything to be open for the guests who will come, and there will be many of them. Recently, I have been invited from several offices of presidents and prime ministers who were looking for places here for their friends and ministers. This means that everyone knows what Banja Luka is and what is happening there. Long live Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska, Serbia and every success we achieve”, said the President of the Republic of Srpska.
