Ostrava city councilors approved a memorandum for the construction of a football stadium

Ostrava - Today, the representatives of Ostrava approved a five-party memorandum for the construction of the Bazaly football stadium. In the coming days, a working group will also be formed to start preparing the project, and an architectural competition for the design of the new stadium is to be announced later this year. This was stated to journalists by Mayor Jan Dohnal (Together).

"The memorandum is a declaratory matter, indicating that all involved parties are interested in participating in the project. It is not a contract; it is a mutual will of the parties that they want to continue with this project," Dohnal said.

The city decided to build a new football stadium after a feasibility study demonstrated that a structure for at least 15,000 spectators is possible on the original site of the legendary Bazaly stadium. The stadium was the home ground of Baník from 1959 until the 2014/2015 season when the footballers had to move to the City Stadium in Ostrava-Vítkovice because the original no longer met the established conditions.

However, the functioning of footballers and athletes in shared facilities is relatively problematic according to city officials, and the city stadium is already at its capacity limit. Signatories to the memorandum, besides the city, include the FC Baník Ostrava football club, the Academy of FC Baník Ostrava, the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR), and the city company Vítkovice Aréna as the owner of Bazaly.

"From the city's perspective, the most important thing is to build a new stadium right at Bazaly. From Baník's perspective, the most important thing is that they want to participate in it, and from FAČR's perspective, that the stadium could also serve the Czech national team. There is also a football academy, which means youth development," said the mayor.

The stadium is expected to have a capacity of 15,000 to 17,000 spectators. Its construction is projected to cost between 1.5 to 1.7 billion crowns, estimating costs at 100,000 crowns per seat. The actual construction is expected to begin in 2027. The city explored several options for the possible construction of a new stadium, including building it close to the city stadium. However, the land there is not owned by the city, and a change in the zoning plan would also be necessary.

The city decided to purchase Bazaly in 2013, as the club was then facing significant financial difficulties. The city paid approximately 115 million crowns for the facility, thus saving the club from bankruptcy. The purchase of Bazaly faced criticism, and it was only passed in a repeated vote during the council meeting. Subsequently, the city arranged for the facility to be renovated for around 320 million crowns, and since 2019 it has served young footballers for training. The spectator capacity of the stadium's main playing field currently stands at 450 seats.