Ostrava wants to build two sports halls

Ostrava - The city of Ostrava is preparing projects for the construction of two sports halls. The mayor, Petr Kajnar, informed journalists about this today. According to him, it is currently only about preparing a study, and it cannot yet be said when the new sports facilities will be built.
     "To complete the overall sports infrastructure, we lack two halls in the city, one for ball sports, such as handball and basketball, and the other for athletics," Kajnar said. The hall formerly known as Tatran, where basketball is played, is slowly reaching the end of its lifespan, according to him. Athletes also have nowhere to properly train in the winter. "Athletics has a relatively broad base in the city, but for winter training, we only have a rather inadequate tunnel," the mayor explained.
     The vision of the city leadership is that both halls should have a capacity of about 3,000 or 4,000 spectators. Each of them could cost around 150 million crowns, according to Kajnar. The city will likely build them once it has the funds. "It could be in maybe five or ten years. But it is good to have the project prepared. Sometimes the opportunity arises to draw funds from the state budget, but if you don't have a project, you simply don't have a chance," Kajnar said.
     The city is first dealing with the hall for ball sports. The location where it could stand is the area of the former Josef Kotase Ice Stadium. Nearby, a bridge is currently being built on the busy Českobratrská street leading to the city center, and a feeder road to the highway will also be completed there.
     "We are in a stage of considerations and studies. That location is not definitive; the placement will be decided based on how the verification study turns out. A number of things must be verified, whether it is even possible to build there, and also to make a rough estimate of costs," Kajnar said.
     He stated that the city is also considering other locations. One of them is a city-owned plot near the Ferona company, which, according to the city leadership, is already quite far from the center. Another possible area is a location at the end of Komenského sadů in Přívoz.