Politicians continue to discuss the renovation of the summer stadium in Pardubice

Pardubice - The city will renovate the Pardubice Summer Stadium and its surroundings in phases. They will also reduce the more than half-billion investment. One of the options is to lower the planned seating capacity, thus the stadium would not meet the parameters for the first league. This was stated to reporters today by Deputy Mayor Petr Kvaš (ODS).

"It is more or less agreed that we will build in phases; now it is necessary to agree on what specifically and what the costs will be," said Kvaš.

Pardubice postponed the project to modernize the summer stadium and revitalize its surroundings for 533 million crowns in April, unexpectedly the council did not approve it. The coalition repeatedly agreed that it does not plan any other use for the stadium despite opposition criticism. It was built for football, and its function will not change, Kvaš said.

According to Kvaš, savings can be found, for example, in repairing the grandstand. The current project envisions a league stadium with a capacity of 4,600 spectators under a covered roof. "The capacity for the second league, which is currently played in Pardubice, is sufficient in our opinion," Kvaš said on behalf of the coalition ODS.

The coalition is also looking for another way to park other than by the Elbe behind the ice rink. According to Kvaš, it would be a shame for the riverbank to be permanently blocked by a parking lot when there could one day be a place for leisure activities. One option is to build a parking garage elsewhere. "A change in the project brings procedural problems; we are at the stage of approving the zoning decision," Kvaš said.

The stadium is in a state of emergency. Pardubice has already spent 20 million crowns on preparing the investment. The stadium was designed by architect Karel Řepa in the 1930s. Since 2016, the small and large stands, including the players' gate, have been a cultural monument. Activists proposed monument protection because the city, led by the ANO movement, wanted to demolish this part of the stadium.