The match in H. Králové goes to the 2nd round, everyone advanced

Hradec Králové – The tender for the construction of a football stadium in Hradec Králové has entered the second round. All registered applicants met the qualification requirements and will be able to submit preliminary bids until February 5. Kateřina Šmídová, the spokesperson for the city hall, said this today. The tender, announced by the city on September 4, is the fourth in order and is valued at nearly 600 million crowns excluding VAT. The number of registered applicants has not been disclosed by the city hall.

In the first round, interested parties only registered for the competition, and the city subsequently assessed whether they met the requirements for expertise. "For some, we requested additional information. The evaluation committee stated that all met the participation conditions and can participate in the next round of the procurement procedure," said Jiří Bláha (ODS), the deputy mayor for investments.

After the submission of preliminary bids, discussions with the bidders will follow. "Their subject will be to improve the proposals for the benefit of the client, i.e., the city. Subsequently, we will invite the participants to submit their final bids," Bláha stated. According to him, the commencement of preparatory work on the new stadium is anticipated in the first half of next year, in the event of a successful tender.

The competition is being addressed in administrative proceedings by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) following an objection from the construction company PORR, so the city cannot sign a contract with a potential winner because of this. Last week, ÚOHS decided that the city made a mistake in the tender by not sufficiently and clearly addressing the objections raised by PORR, which complained about the tendering conditions.

According to the city hall, the ÚOHS decision is of a procedural nature and is therefore not a ruling on whether the established tender conditions are correct or not. The city can file an appeal against the authority's decision or address the objections again. The ÚOHS decision does not oblige the city to cancel the tender, so according to the city hall, the competition can continue.

The city has been preparing the construction on the site of the partially demolished multipurpose stadium for over 15 years, and it is one of Hradec's priority investments. The contract is issued using the Design and Build method. The basic requirements of the city regarding the size and functions of the stadium are established. The evaluation of bids will be based on multiple criteria. The offered price will have a weight of 40 percent. The city previously anticipated that a contract with the winning firm could be concluded in the spring of 2021. The firm will have two years for design and construction.

The stadium, which will house the second league club FC Hradec Králové, is expected to meet UEFA Category 4 standards, which are for stadiums for international matches. It is also expected to meet the requirement for a multifunctional arena. The capacity of the arena should be at least 8,000 spectators.