The year 2026 is, above all, the Year of Nadia. It marks half a century since Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast in history to score a perfect 10 at the Olympic Games. But it is also the year of Onești — the city that gave the world the “Goddess of Montreal” and which has now been awarded the title of European City of Sport.
At the same time, 2026 will see the Municipal Sports Club (CSM) Onești organize a series of major events under the “Year of Nadia 2026” project. The highlights are scheduled for the end of May, when the city on the Trotuș River will host the “Nadia Comăneci International Cup – Perfect 10” gymnastics competition and the “Champions Gala” at the Carom sports base.
Equally important, however, 2026 represents the beginning of a new stage for sports infrastructure in Onești — one aimed at excellence and worthy of Nadia Comăneci’s legacy.
On May 6, Romania’s Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration announced the launch of the decision-making transparency procedure for drafting a government resolution approving the technical and economic indicators for the investment project “Rehabilitation, modernization, expansion and equipment of the Onești Municipal Sports Club.”
The Romanian Government has thus given the green light to a EUR 24 million investment project (over RON 122 million), aimed at rehabilitating the entire sports complex where Nadia Comăneci began and perfected her legendary career. Once completed, the CSM Onești sports base will be renamed the “Nadia Comăneci National Sports Complex.”
“I am extremely happy that, after many years of sustained efforts and thanks to the involvement of the CSM Onești team, this project is becoming reality. It is not just about new buildings, but about giving children the chance to grow up in an environment that inspires them. It is our way of telling them that they, too, can achieve perfection,” Nadia Comăneci said after learning of the government’s decision.
“This is a very important step, and we are especially pleased that it has been taken. Onești, the cradle of Romanian gymnastics, fully deserves such recognition, and turning this project into reality with government support will not bring joy only for a moment — it will change destinies,” said CSM Onești director Ingrid Istrate, who initiated the project years ago and fought to bring it to fruition.
At the beginning of 2026, dubbed the “Year of Nadia,” Ingrid Istrate told local newspaper Deșteptarea that the naming of the future complex was deliberate.
“It is no coincidence that we chose the name ‘Nadia Comăneci National Sports Complex.’ A sponsor covered all project design expenses without any support from the state. Now we hope that the Romanian state will offer Nadia a valuable gift in the ‘Year of Nadia Comăneci’ by turning this project into reality. For me, it is now or never,” she said.
The project goes beyond the rehabilitation of the Nadia Comăneci gymnastics hall, where Romania’s Olympic gymnastics team trained in the 1970s, and the Vasile Pușcașu weightlifting hall, linked to Olympic medalist Mihaela Cambei.
Plans also include modernization of the gymnastics hall and annex, tennis courts, athletics facilities, locker rooms and administrative headquarters. The existing micro-hotel and cafeteria are set to be demolished and replaced with three new buildings providing accommodation and recovery spaces for athletes and coaches, a weightlifting training hall with associated locker rooms, a museum, conference hall and auxiliary spaces, while the administrative building will be reconfigured.
In the Year of Nadia, Onești is paying tribute to its past while looking toward the future with pride, confidence and hope.
