Liberec will submit a grant application for a swimming pool, covering one-tenth of the costs

Liberec - Liberec will submit a request for obtaining 139 million crowns from the National Sports Agency for the modernization of the city pool. The city councilors decided on this at an extraordinary council meeting today. Such a grant is expected to cover one-tenth of the costs; according to estimates, the nearly complete renovation of the swimming stadium will cost over one billion crowns.

The councilors of Liberec met at an unusual time so that the city could meet the conditions of the grant call. The National Sports Agency (NSA) announced it in mid-September, stating that the deadline for submitting applications ends this Thursday at noon. "And as you surely know, our standard council meeting will be (that day) starting from 3 PM. We need the result of our voting to include in the application, stating that we are actually saying that we are willing to co-finance any potential grant," said Deputy Mayor Petr Židek (ODS) at the council meeting.

According to him, preparing the application was very demanding; officials had to ensure the completion of dozens of attachments. "Considering that it is a grant for sports infrastructure, we primarily had to divide the detailed budget so that we could claim as many eligible costs as possible in the application. For the remaining items that are deemed ineligible by the NSA, we will look for opportunities to apply them in other grant programs, such as the State Environmental Fund," he added.

Liberec also has a promise of a grant of 150 million crowns from the Liberec Region. However, just the grant itself will not cover the modernization of the pool, so the city will take out a loan of up to three-quarters of a billion crowns. It is currently inquiring with banks to find which one will provide the best conditions.

During the reconstruction, the pool will be closed for approximately two years. However, the city does not yet know who and for how much will repair the pool, let alone when the work will begin. The deadline for submitting offers for interested parties in this contract will expire at the end of December this year. That is why the pool will remain open for several months longer than the city originally announced. Its closure was planned for January 1, 2024, but it will likely remain operational at least in January and February. "We are capable of ensuring that," said Leoš Borkovec, the operational director of the city company Bazén Liberec, to ČTK.

In terms of attendance, the last two seasons have been above average. Last year, the pool had 490,000 visitors according to Borkovec, and this year it has already exceeded half a million people. The covered complex from the mid-1980s includes three pools, slides, saunas, whirlpools, and other attractions. The sports facility needs repairs - important technological equipment is aging, and there are leaks from the roof. The glazing of the building is also inadequate, and the main pool's basin is leaking. A significant reconstruction is also awaiting the pool. However, the chosen approach to modernization is criticized by the opposition, which considers it unnecessarily costly.