Praha will announce a competition for the repair of Ďolíček and will also begin to address its surroundings

Prof. Ing. arch. Arnošt Navrátil, Ing. arch. Kamil Švaříček: Volume study of Ďolíček (2011). Visualization: neoVISUAL

Prague – The Prague City Hall plans to soon announce an architectural competition for the reconstruction of the Ďolíček stadium in Vršovice, which it has owned since 2018. At the same time, it wants to build an apartment building and a sports hall in its vicinity. This was stated by the city's councilor Vít Šimral (Pirates). He added that the councilors of Prague should approve a memorandum with Prague 10 in September.

After the approval of the memorandum, which includes the requests of the district for the appearance of the entire area, the councilor stated that preparations for the constructions around the stadium would begin. "At the same time, the administration of the architectural competition for the stadium itself will be addressed," he said. The capacity of the stadium is expected to be increased through the reconstruction in order to meet the standards for top league matches and matches in European competitions. Currently, the stadium does not meet these standards, and the club has a long-term exemption.

Across from the stadium on Vršovická street by the Přípotoční Gymnasium, a new indoor sports hall is to be built. "Currently, we have a volume study, so it will be developed into a project form, and there should already be an item of 25 million crowns in the budget for next year for that. From that, we will make the project, and subsequently, we would like to build the hall within two to three years," said the councilor. An apartment building is also planned to be constructed on the land by the stadium, which according to Šimral would partially recoup the investment.

The city wants to secure funding for sports projects from the National Sports Agency, but according to Šimral, the options in that direction are limited, and therefore the involvement of private investors through so-called PPP projects is also considered. "Setting the cooperation correctly is very difficult, ideal models have not yet been found in the Czech Republic. However, we have the ambition to try it," said Šimral. He added that the city is planning a conference this autumn where PPP projects in sports will be the main topic.

Negotiations about the transfer of Ďolíček began between the city and the private owner in 2011. The district of Prague 10 initially wanted to buy the stadium, but the previous leadership of Prague disagreed with that. In the past electoral period, an agreement was finally reached that the city would repurchase the stadium. The Bohemians 1905 football club plays at the stadium, and the uncertainty regarding the stadium has caused problems for them for years.