Part of the renovation of the Kladno ice hockey arena is being held up by uncertainty over the allocation of the grant.

Kladno – A part of the repair of the Kladno winter stadium is being delayed by uncertainty related to the allocation of a subsidy from the National Sports Agency (NSA). Therefore, the city leadership has not yet awarded the contract for the construction of the new third floor of the stadium, which is intended for the administration, sponsors, and facilities for journalists. Similarly, the municipality will proceed with the air conditioning, as the city is currently covering all expenses from its own funds, stated the spokesperson for the Kladno city hall, Vít Heral, in a press release today.

The total cost of the reconstruction is expected to reach 470 million crowns due to rising construction material prices and unforeseen complications with the structure of the stadium building, which have increased costs by tens of millions of crowns.

According to Heral, earlier statements from the former leadership of the region and representatives of the state indicated that the repair of the stadium should be financed equally by the city, the region, and the NSA. "Despite Jaromír Jágr's efforts, which I appreciate, I have been concerned from the beginning that it would only remain promises and that the entire investment would fall on the city's shoulders. And unfortunately, that is the case so far. I hope that at least the promise from the NSA will be fulfilled, but we still cannot figure out a successful conclusion, even though we submitted our application and provided all requested documents back in July last year," said Kladno mayor Milan Volf (Volba pro Kladno).

He noted that the fundamental problem is that the subsidy can only be used for items that have not yet been paid for; therefore, no further phases of the stadium modernization, which began last spring, will be launched for now. It is expected to be completed before the start of the hockey season 2022/23, which is by the end of this summer. The investment includes roof replacement, repair of the load-bearing structure, cladding and insulation, construction of the third floor, air conditioning, and ammonia plumbing.

The Kladno winter stadium was opened in 1949 and was completely covered a decade later. It is among the oldest in the Czech Republic. In addition to the extraleague team Rytíři, it is used by the PZ Kladno club and other amateur and youth teams, including schools. After the reconstruction, the stadium can also be used for various cultural and sports events.