In Ostrava, new university buildings will begin construction for one billion

Ostrava - Two new buildings of the University of Ostrava will be constructed in the city center by a consortium of two companies - the Ostrava branch of IMOS Brno and the Třinec-based Beskydské stavební, which won the tender. The facilities, costing approximately one billion crowns, will serve as new support for sports activities and artistic fields. They will also include underground garages. The university spokesman Adam Soustružník informed ČTK today.

The new buildings of the University of Ostrava will rise near the Černá louka exhibition center. "The whole project is another significant milestone in the history of the university and the city. This is the largest investment project of its kind for the university and will significantly improve the facilities for artistic activities, sports activities, and kinanthropological research," said rector Jan Lata.

According to him, the project is unique not only in connecting art and sport but also in the mutual cooperation between the university and the city. "The buildings will be constructed on land that has been in a neglected state for a long time, even though it is located right in the center of Ostrava," Lata added. The project will also allow the university to create new study programs.

"Ostrava needs to develop top-notch education not only in technical fields, and this is a concrete response. We have therefore decided to significantly support the construction of new buildings of the University of Ostrava, not only by pre-financing the project preparation but mainly through the donation and preparation of construction land and also by building an underground parking lot, which will be part of the complex and will serve both the university's needs and the public," said mayor Tomáš Macura (ANO). Ostrava has donated land worth 42 million crowns to the university and will pay 117 million for the construction of underground garages with 155 spaces.

Construction is expected to start in the next two weeks. The total costs for all facilities will reach almost one billion crowns. A new Faculty of Arts will be established on site, which will include exhibition spaces, a chamber hall for nearly 250 listeners, as well as a studio and research laboratory for music therapy. Thus, the university will be able to offer new study programs such as Production in Cultural and Creative Industries, Graphic Design, or Chamber Music.

In another part, there will be facilities for sports. The university, as the only one in the Czech Republic, has not previously had its own sports facilities, which will also be connected to a scientific laboratory. In Ostrava, according to the spokesman, the most modern scientific background for the study of human movement in Central Europe will emerge. Newly, the university will be able to accept students into the fields of Sports Science or Behavioral Health, Sports, and Technology.