In Hradec Králové, the demolition of the stadium has begun; the city is preparing a new one

Hradec Králové - In Hradec Králové, builders began the demolition of the western stand of the outdated Malšovice multipurpose stadium. A special thirty-eight-ton machine today demolished the steel roof structure above the stand using hydraulic scissors. The current stadium, which was built more than 50 years ago, is set to be replaced by a modern arena costing over half a billion crowns. Petr Vinklář, the spokesman for the city hall, said this today.

The city will pay nearly three million crowns for the demolition of the above-ground parts of the stand. Over the weekend, workers dismantled most of the seats from the stand. Everything is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The demolition work schedule will be adjusted to accommodate the home games of Hradec’s second-division football team. The stand has been closed to the public since September 25.

In the next phase of the demolition, which will already be part of the contract for the construction of the new stadium, the embankment of the western stand will be removed.

So far, the city has obtained two of the three necessary building permits for the new stadium. The city hall has a permit for the stadium itself and also has permission for construction from the water management authority. It still lacks approval from the road authority for connecting the arena and the traffic solution for the surrounding roads.

At the same time, the city is preparing executive documentation, which will serve as the basis for the tender for a construction company for the stadium. The construction of the stadium is anticipated to begin in 2018. This will be the first phase, which includes the construction of a new western stand at a cost of about 270 million crowns.

The new football arena is set to have a capacity of nearly 10,000 seated spectators, while the current multipurpose stadium is designed for 7,000 people. The most prominent feature will be the new western stand, which will be built on the site of the current embankment stand. The typical lighting of the playing field with four so-called "lollipops" will also be preserved, albeit in a modernized form.