Plzeň will start building a multipurpose sports hall for about half a billion in the middle of the year

Plzeň – Plzeň will start building a multipurpose sports hall this year in the middle of the year at a cost of about half a billion crowns. It will be completed within two years next to the campus of the University of West Bohemia in the Bory district. The hall, with a capacity of over 2500 spectators, will be managed by the handball players of Plzeň's Talent, and it will also host futsal players, who have repeatedly won the title. This was stated by Mayor Roman Zarzycký to ČTK.

"The project is completed, and according to it, the price is around 600 million crowns. I have instructed to look for a contractor in the market who can procure it for significantly lower money. My assumption is somewhere around 480 million crowns, but the market will show," stated the mayor. According to him, at this moment, the city is counting on financing the hall with its own money and does not want to be restricted by the conditions of subsidies.

According to the mayor, the selection process should be closed at the turn of May and June. "And we could hand over the construction site for realization. I assume that such a large construction will take between 16 and 24 months, depending on the weather," Zarzycký added.

According to a decision by the city council, the hall will be operated by handball players. "A document is being prepared with them, and they have a primary agreement with futsal players. It is expected that the champions of handball and futsal will join their forces. But of course, the facility will be accessible to all athletes from the region," said the mayor. It will be a sports facility of the city of Plzeň, which will have the same regime as, for example, the ice rink, swimming complexes, and others.

Talent Plzeň, the men's handball club, is currently the most successful handball team in the Czech Republic according to its website – a multiple champion of the extra league and a regular participant in European cups. The futsal team Interobal Plzeň is similarly successful. Both clubs currently play in the smaller city hall TJ Lokomotiva in Slovany, built in 1974.

The new sports facility, which has been in preparation for two years, is supposed to meet the parameters for international matches. The opposition wanted to announce an architectural competition for it and also requested to consider a larger capacity. The city leadership then stated that the project is based on an agreement with the clubs.

According to the mayor, the city will complete another significant sports facility at the turn of April and May - a new wave-shaped stand at the athletics stadium with a training track on the roof, which is a construction costing 130 million crowns. "So this beautiful area will be completely opened and handed over to our athletes," the mayor added. Thanks to this, the Czech Republic Championships in Athletics for men and women will be held in Plzeň on July 25 and 26.