On Prague's Letná, there is to be a shopping center instead of a football field

Prague - The Club for Old Prague criticizes the plan to construct a commercial-administrative center on the site of Sparta's training field on Letná Plain in Prague. The transformation of the open field in a prominent location in the city into a building plot is according to the club dangerous and would have irreversible negative urban planning consequences for the character of the place. According to Sparta spokesman Ondřej Kasík and the spokesman for the City Development Department (ÚRM) Marek Vácha, however, a decision on the use of the land has not yet been made.
    "Given the seriousness of the proposal, the Club for Old Prague calls on the city council and especially ÚRM not to allow reckless commercial building on the edges of Letná Plain," said club vice-chairman Richard Biegel to ČTK. He believes that binding regulatory conditions for the long-term development of Letná Plain should be established as soon as possible, which must respect both its unique landscape and natural framework, as well as the architectural character and quality urban life in the neighborhoods adjacent to it.
    According to Biegel, the commercial pressure shows that in the case of Letná Plain one cannot wait for the approval of the Metropolitan Plan, but these rules need to be set immediately. "It is all too evident that otherwise, due to purposeful interventions, it will no longer be possible to reasonably and contextually resolve this unique and city-significant area through the plan," he believes.
    However, ÚRM spokesman Marek Vácha told ČTK that it is still unclear what will potentially be at the site of the field in the future. "Currently, a study is being prepared for this location, ÚRM is dealing with the area. However, at this moment, it is not possible to provide any more specific information, as everything is in its infancy," he stated.
    The football club AC Sparta is considering a potential new use of the land because, after the completion of the Blanka Tunnel, it will no longer be suitable for athlete training for hygiene reasons. The tunnel will exit practically right next to the field. "It is true that if the land is not suitable for training athletes, the club owner is considering its alternative use. At this moment, no solution is on the table regarding how to utilize the land," said Sparta spokesman Ondřej Kasík to ČTK. He did not specify what kind of investor, if any, has approached the club. "That's not within my competencies," Kasík told ČTK.
    The Club for Old Prague also states that the field planned for construction is an optical extension of the plain and directly connects it to the villa district and nearby Stromovka. Any encirclement of the plain would allegedly damage not only its character but also the historically protected villa districts in its immediate vicinity.
    The discussed construction, according to Biegel, is a type of building that commonly arises at highway interchanges on the outskirts of the city. "With its commercial-administrative character, it represents a completely foreign element in the area, which among other things anticipates long-distance individual motor vehicle traffic, for which extensive parking is being constructed on the roof of the building," says Biegel.
    According to him, the center would attract traffic to Letná that would otherwise not be directed there at all. Even now, traffic on Letná is beyond tolerable limits, despite the fact that it is unambiguously a residential historical urban district, he reminds.
    The Prague 7 municipality, where the field is located, has not yet been informed by the construction investor about the plan to build a shopping center there. "We don’t know anything yet. We have not been officially informed and we have no application at the municipality either," said Prague 7 spokesman Martin Vokuš to ČTK.