The long-closed spa in Plzeň will open to the public for paintball

Plzeň - Nearly 20 years of closure and devastation of the city spa in the center of Plzeň is set to open to the public in November. The Plzeň company DPZ Consulting, which operates 13 paintball fields, has rented the historic site indefinitely from its Italian owner, TWB Praha, and wants to use 15 percent of the building's space. The new tenant took possession of the building on October 2, is clearing it out, and securing it against vandalism and homeless people, said Petr Papež from DPZ today, which is allegedly the second-largest paintball operator in the Czech Republic.
    TWB will provide necessary repairs to the building from the rent, where thieves have already stolen all metal fittings including the elevator, roof covering, railing, and wiring. The owner continues to work on a long-term plan for the building’s restoration and is trying to find a suitable project and investor; the owner stated that it will take two to three years, possibly more, Papež added. TWB initially wanted to build luxury apartments, offices, and a hotel there.
    The spa is a protected monument, but not its walls. If DPZ receives a favorable opinion from the heritage conservation department of the magistrate, it will open the paintball field a few days after that. "By November 15, we are supposed to receive the decision. If it’s negative, at least we have cleared it out and tried," Papež stated. He guarantees that the condition of the spa will not deteriorate.
    "According to our lawyer and architect, paintball will not threaten the cultural monument. For now, we do not intend to carry out any construction work in the building. All our equipment is mobile and can be removed at any time. The paint contained in the paintballs is non-toxic and water-soluble, for which we also have a chemical analysis," said Tomáš Zísler, another operator of 13 fields that are already functioning in Železná Ruda in the Šumava Protected Landscape Area, near Hrádek u Sokolova, where there are trenches and bunkers, in Libá near Cheb, where he rents a four-story factory and at Líně airport. The company started five years ago in Mýtě near Rokycany, reviving a former malt house. "Feedback from thousands of clients on Facebook is very positive. The spa has attracted a large number of German clients. The catchment area will range from Prague to Munich," Zísler said. In Germany, paintball is legislatively more complicated and expensive.
    The controversial use of the spa, according to Papež, is a realistic salvation of a monument that has been deteriorating for decades. The tenant offers the space for all social and cultural activities that will revitalize the building, either short-term or long-term. For example, a planned exhibition on November 2, Pecha Kucha, organized by the Posedlí association. "There was really a terrible mess here, little apartments and nests, where just a few weeks ago someone lived," Papež noted. The company Výškové práce Plzeň already starts to maintain the building from the paid rent.