OMV Petrom is granting a new sponsorship to the Romanian Rowing Federation, worth EUR 1.7 million, for the construction of the PETROM Rowing Arena on Lake Pantelimon – Romania’s first Olympic rowing base. The Arena project, carried out with the support of OMV Petrom and the Pantelimon City Hall, was announced today.
“Romania has world-class rowing champions, but it does not yet have an internationally certified Olympic base. Through this new EUR 1.7 million sponsorship, OMV Petrom contributes to the development of the PETROM Rowing Arena, a project that can bring major international competitions to Romania and support the next generations of athletes. Together with the ‘Energy for Performance’ program, our commitment to rowing reaches EUR 2.7 million,” said Radu Căprău, member of the OMV Petrom Executive Board, responsible for Refining and Marketing.
“The extraordinary results that Romania consistently achieves in rowing are the outcome of the work of athletes, coaches and all those who believe in this sport. For these performances to continue, we need not only extraordinary people, but also infrastructure to match them. The PETROM Rowing Arena is a project that Romanian rowing has been waiting for many years and one that will fundamentally change the way we train and Romania’s capacity to organize international competitions. We thank OMV Petrom for the trust and vision to invest not only in today’s performances, but also in the future of this sport,” said Elisabeta Lipă, President of the Romanian Rowing Federation.
The PETROM Rowing Arena will be developed with the support of Pantelimon City Hall and will become the first rowing base in Romania built for international certification. The project will be implemented in stages during 2026–2028 and will begin with the development of a platform of approximately 10,000 sqm, the minimum area required for the international accreditation of the base and the organization of major rowing competitions.
The investment for this phase is estimated at approximately EUR 3.2 million, of which EUR 1.7 million comes from OMV Petrom’s sponsorship, while the difference of approximately EUR 1.5 million is provided by the Romanian Rowing Federation.
The development of the PETROM Rowing Arena is the second major initiative supported by OMV Petrom. Since 2024, OMV Petrom has supported the “Energy for Performance” program with EUR 1 million, which aims to identify and develop future generations of Olympic rowing champions. The program supports national selection, athlete training and the equipping of rowing centers with modern equipment, and more than 200 young athletes have already been included in the program.
