The construction of the stadium in H. Králové will be more expensive and will face further delays

Hradec Králové - The construction of a new football stadium in Hradec Králové will be about 55 million crowns more expensive and will cost approximately 605 million crowns excluding VAT. A new tender for a construction company could be announced in the second half of this year after adjustments to the project documentation. The winner could, if everything goes smoothly, be known in the first quarter of 2020. Jiří Bláha (ODS), the Deputy Mayor for Investments, told ČTK today. Last year, the city announced two tenders for the stadium but canceled both. The city originally intended for construction to begin at the beginning of this year.

The last tender for the stadium was canceled last November by the new city leadership formed by the coalition of ANO, ODS, and Změny pro Hradec. The city subsequently had two assessments conducted to evaluate the project, the construction costs, and the recalculation of the load-bearing structure. "The assessments revealed a fundamental underestimation of the financial aspect and serious deficiencies in the documentation. It is not in accordance with the client's assignment," Bláha stated. According to him, the city will now negotiate with the designer on making adjustments to the documentation as part of a complaint.

The city's intention will then be to announce a competition for the construction of the entire stadium at once, whereas previously only the construction of two stands and a new pitch was considered. The remaining two stands were to be built later according to the city’s financial capabilities. Bláha believes that constructing the entire stadium at once would ultimately cost less than dividing it into phases. The city also wants to organize the competition as a single-round instead of the current two-round format to expedite the process. According to Bláha, the maximum price for the tender should be set at 605 million crowns. "The final decision on the construction of the stadium will rest with the representatives," Bláha pointed out.

Bláha's predecessor in the position of investment deputy Jindřich Vedlich (Slušná politika and Hradec patriots, formerly TOP 09) rejected the opinions regarding faulty documentation for the construction. "According to the developed project documentation, it was possible to build the stadium," Vedlich told ČTK. He had previously called the cancellation of the stadium tender a mistake.

The last tender for two stands and a pitch had a maximum price set at 400 million crowns. However, according to Bláha, this price was underestimated, and a more realistic price was 550 million crowns, which was originally calculated for the construction of the entire arena with all four stands. Cost overruns could have been caused, for example, by dividing the construction into two phases, which the city wants to avoid in the new competition. Bláha also mentioned that building only two stands and a pitch was a poor solution because the Football Association of the Czech Republic would allegedly not allow championship matches to be played in such an incomplete stadium without at least three stands.

The stadium is expected to have a capacity of 10,000 spectators. If the project is adjusted so that the stadium could also serve as a multifunctional arena for organizing cultural events, the city could potentially obtain a subsidy for its construction, according to Bláha. In this year’s budget, Hradec allocated 180 million crowns for the stadium's construction.

The construction of the stadium is set to be the largest investment in the city in recent years. The stadium, which has been in preparation for more than 15 years, is to be built on the site of an unsuitable multi-sport stadium from 1960.