The stadium in Hradec Králové should be built by Strabag, Geosan, and D&D

Hradec Králové – The new football stadium in Hradec Králové is expected to be built by a consortium of companies Strabag, Geosan Group, and D&D Elektro-mont for 568 million crowns excluding VAT. The city council has today recommended this consortium as the winner of the tender to the city representatives for approval. The city council will discuss it on March 29. City hall spokesperson Kateřina Šmídová told ČTK today. The city has been preparing the construction on the site of a partially demolished multi-sport stadium for more than 15 years. It is one of the city's priority investments.

The current tender, which the city announced on September 4 of last year, is the fourth in a row. Originally, four entities applied for the tender, all of which met the qualification requirements. In February, three entities submitted preliminary offers. The evaluation committee selected the winner on March 5.

However, the city will have to wait for the decision of the antitrust office before signing the contract with the winner, if approved by the representatives. The Office for the Protection of Competition is still reviewing the tender in an administrative procedure following a complaint from the construction company PORR. The company is dissatisfied with certain terms of the competition and the set evaluation criteria. The city claims it acted correctly.

The city has announced the contract using the Design and Build method. Basic requirements for stadium size and functions were stipulated by the city. The winning company will have two years for design and construction.

According to Deputy Mayor for Investments Jiří Bláha (ODS), the offer from Strabag, Geosan Group, and D&D Elektromont was clearly the best. "We unanimously recommended the winning proposal to the city council for decision. Now it will depend mainly on the representatives and, of course, also on the outcome of the proceedings with the Office for the Protection of Competition," said Bláha.

The total costs for acquiring the stadium should not exceed 605 million crowns excluding VAT. Last July, the city signed a contract with Arcadis Czech Republic for 31.8 million crowns excluding VAT to act as the project's administrator. Thus, 573.2 million crowns excluding VAT remained for the actual construction. The Strabag, Geosan, and D&D consortium offered a price about five million crowns lower.

The stadium, which will have facilities for the second league club FC Hradec Králové, is expected to meet UEFA category 4 standards, which are for stadiums for international matches. It should also fulfill the requirement for a multifunctional arena. The arena's capacity should be 8000 spectators with the possibility of expanding to 9300 seats. All seats should be covered. The new design should also preserve the iconic lighting of the existing stadium in the form of so-called "lollipops." The city intends to secure a state grant for the construction financing.

The construction of a football stadium is also being prepared in neighboring Pardubice. It will be created by reconstructing the summer football stadium. The company PORR will build the stadium for 314 million crowns excluding VAT, as decided by the Pardubice representatives on March 11. The current capacity of the summer stadium is 600 spectators, and after reconstruction, it will accommodate 4600 people.