Hradec Králové will continue its legal dispute with the NSA over the grant for the construction of a shipyard

Hradec Králové – The city of Hradec Králové will file a new administrative lawsuit against the National Sports Agency (NSA) regarding the unawarded subsidy for the construction of a city canoeing boathouse in Hradec Králové. The lawsuit aims to challenge the NSA's new decision from this October to once again reject the subsidy, which was supposed to amount to 16 million crowns. This was stated to journalists today by the mayor of Hradec Králové, Pavlína Springerová (Hradec Democratic Club).

The case began with the city's application for a subsidy in September 2021. After the subsidy was not granted, the city turned to the Municipal Court in Prague in December 2022 with an administrative lawsuit, which annulled the NSA's decision to reject the subsidy in August 2023 due to a lack of reviewability and referred the case back to the NSA for further proceedings. The NSA issued a new decision in October, once again rejecting the city's application for a subsidy.

"In the new decision in this matter, the National Sports Agency clearly refuted all substantive objections raised by Hradec Králové during the court proceedings," stated NSA spokesperson Alena Panovská in October.

According to the mayor, the city is convinced that the NSA's decision to reject the subsidy is subject to judicial review. Therefore, it will file the administrative lawsuit again. The reasons for its filing remain unchanged, with the city hall asserting that the NSA did not proceed correctly in evaluating the application.

The city's lawsuit filed in 2022 concerned the criterion of the boathouse's necessity. Hradec Králové could have received a higher score rating for the fact that there is no other boathouse within 15 kilometers of the Hradec boathouse on the Orlice River. However, the NSA measured that a boathouse on the Elbe in Černožice lies within that distance in a straight line. The city countered that the driving distance to Černožice is longer than 15 kilometers, which would have given the city an additional crucial five points in the assessment.

Despite a possible victory in the court dispute, Hradec Králové does not consider it realistic that it would receive funding from the subsidy. "We know that the allocated funds have already been exhausted and are not in the program," the mayor stated earlier.

The city opened the boathouse for 21.5 million crowns excluding tax last spring. The new facility replaced an inadequate boathouse from the 1920s on the banks of the Orlice. The boathouse consists of a two-story building that is divided into facilities for athletes and storage for up to 150 boats. Amenities include a clubhouse, toilets, showers, gym, and sauna.