The new design of the Bazaly stadium will be proposed for Ostrava by ten architectural teams

PROJECT STUDIO: Feasibility Study on the Capacity of the Bazaly Football Stadium (2024)

Ostrava - The design of the new Bazaly football stadium will be proposed for the city of Ostrava by ten architectural teams from both domestic and foreign backgrounds. About thirty firms from around the world expressed interest in the international architectural competition, with one-third of them advancing to the next phase of the competition after the jury's decision. This was announced to journalists today by the spokesperson of the city hall, Gabriela Pokorná. The building is to be located in the same place where the first-league Baník Ostrava operated from 1959 to the 2014/15 season. It aims to be the best building of its kind in the country and a new landmark for the city. The stadium for 20,000 spectators is projected to cost about 2.5 billion crowns.

The reduction in the number of competition teams has also been approved by the city council, and they have decided which applicants will be invited to submit competition proposals. These should be submitted by the end of this May, at which point they will be evaluated again by the jury, which includes architects from both the domestic and international arenas, as well as representatives from the city, the FC Baník Ostrava football club, and other specialists from various fields. The final design should be known by the end of the year.

"Although the preparatory process may seem lengthy to some, it is important to recognize that quality architecture belongs in Ostrava, is key for the city, and we support it across various projects. Thanks to the architectural competition, we can obtain not only an original architectural solution for the building but also ensure that the authors take into account other essential aspects, starting with economics and sustainability and ending with efficiency and the potential for flawless operation of the stadium," said Mayor Jan Dohnal (Together).

The new stadium, which will allow for international matches, including representative games, is expected to be certified according to the BREEAM standard (building sustainability). The construction will include a club museum, as well as restaurants and fan shops.

Bazaly has been the traditional home of Baník, but the footballers had to move to the City Stadium in Ostrava-Vítkovice because the original location did not meet the established conditions. However, the city administration has repeatedly described the functioning of footballers and athletes in a shared facility as relatively problematic, unsustainable in terms of capacity, and additionally planning for further development of athletics at the City Stadium in the future.

The city decided to buy Bazaly in 2013 when the club was facing significant financial problems. The city paid about 115 million crowns for the complex, saving the club from bankruptcy. The acquisition of Bazaly faced criticism and was only approved in a repeated vote at the city council. The city subsequently had the complex renovated for about 320 million crowns, and since 2019 it has served young footballers for training as well. The current spectator capacity of the stadium's main playing field is 450 seats.