Prague 11 will begin construction of a sports facility with pools for half a billion

Prague - The leadership of the Prague 11 Town Hall has pushed through the construction of a relaxation and sports center with swimming pools, a wellness center, and a sports hall despite opposition protests. The complex, costing half a billion crowns, has been finally approved by the city council members at Wednesday's meeting. Construction is expected to begin as early as June 1. The spokesperson for the municipal district, Andrea Wolfová, informed ČTK about this.
     The multifunctional facility will be built by a consortium of construction companies Hochtief CZ and Bau Plus, which according to the mayor of South City, Dalibor Mlejnský (ODS), submitted the most advantageous bid in the tender. The complex, named Jedenáctka VS, will consist of three interconnected halls on a plot of land measuring 4.75 hectares. Their cost is estimated to be 512 million, including VAT. The town hall will cover the expenses from financial reserves from previous years, the mayor stated.
     City councilors debated the contract proposal for more than four hours. Some councilors from TOP 09 and the Movement for Prague 11 (HpP11) opposed the project. They were particularly dissatisfied that not all appendices were attached to the submitted contract proposals and that the town hall leadership was unclear about the operational costs of the complex. According to the opposition, these could amount to several tens of millions of crowns annually, forcing the town hall to compensate for the losses with high entrance fees. However, Mlejnský rejected this: "It is an opportunity for citizens to engage in sports that they have been waiting for for several years. Two to four million annually - that’s how much the operational costs will be."
The concerns of the opposition were indirectly confirmed by the owner of the nearby aquapark in Čestlice, Pavel Sehnal, who also attended Wednesday's meeting. He stated that although he welcomes around 900,000 people to his complex each year, he still subsidizes the pools by 30 to 40 million every year. Therefore, he offered the municipal district the possibility of a joint investment in "Jedenáctka." Otherwise, according to him, both complexes, which are only a few kilometers apart, will compete with each other. However, Prague 11 is reportedly willing to cooperate only on special promotional and marketing events. It does not intend to change the focus of the center.
The multifunctional area of Jedenáctka VS is to include a 25-meter swimming pool, a multipurpose sports hall, areas for teaching children's swimming and swimming for the smallest infants with their parents, as well as rehabilitation and relaxation swimming for seniors. The completion of the construction is planned approximately for April 2014.