Ostrava wants to build new sports facilities, has approved a strategy

Ostrava - A multi-purpose hall for ball sports with a capacity of 2500 seats, eight new football fields, and three smaller training halls in the form of higher-quality gymnasiums could emerge in Ostrava by 2026. This follows from the city's strategic sports plan, which has already been approved by the city council. Deputy Mayor Martin Štěpánek (ODS) told reporters today.

"We wanted to verify three basic goals: how we are doing with sports funding in Ostrava, what the strengths and weaknesses are, and how we should continue with priorities in the coming years," said Štěpánek.

According to him, it has been shown that the city has a relatively strong sports infrastructure and club support as well as significant experience in organizing sports events. A number of events of both European and world standards have taken place in Ostrava, including the regular athletic meeting Zlatá tretra.

"What we need to supplement is a hall for ball sports, which has been missing here for a long time. There is a lack of several football fields in that infrastructure, and we need to improve the awareness of sports events in Ostrava as well as maintain the system of grant funding for sports," described Štěpánek's goals for the coming years.

The strategy also compared Ostrava with three other similar cities - Plzeň, Brno, and Olomouc. Support for the Moravian-Silesian metropolis in the area of sports is the highest per capita. The number of registered athletes in the city is also increasing annually by about five percent - currently, there are approximately 26,000 registered athletes in 131 clubs.

On average, about 7.5 percent of the budget is allocated to sports in Ostrava. Last year, expenditures reached more than 411 million crowns, the year before that was half a billion, and in 2013 and 2014, it was even more than 800 million crowns.

"Financial data fluctuate mainly in the area of investments, depending on whether some large investment project is being completed. I believe that the current level of non-investment funding is set relatively well," thinks Štěpánek. According to him, the investment budget always depends on whether the city manages to secure grants or a partner for co-financing.