Stadion Polonii Warszawa – design description

The winning bid for Polonia Warszawa's sports complex was created by domestic powerhouse JSK Architects. In order to respect spatial and historical constraints (western facade and plaza are listed as monuments) the complex offers symmetry: indoor arena (1,200 seats) and anciliary sporting facilities are almost indentical in volume, placed on each side of the plaza.

Both buildings mimic the stadium in terms of architecture, with slender columns providing rhythm to all three of them, even if slightly varying in terms of scale. The two smaller buildings will rise to reach 16 meters, while the stadium itself peaks at 19, allowing for the roof and columns to set a symbolic frame of the monument-listed western facade, not imitating its architecture, rather supplementing it.

Due to the historical facade limiting amoung of space dedicated to the main stand, some facilities were moved to a purpose-created building behind the south stand, within the stadium's volume. It will house Polonia Warszawa offices and training facilities, club museum and commercial spaces, as well as conference centre overlooking the field.

With colonnade instead of opaque outer cladding, the stadium offers shaded, airy promenade for fans, connecting to existing park in the east. Structural barriers are limited to the necessary minimum, making the entirety very accessible.

Continuous, single-tiered auditorium has 22 rows and should reach 16,000 people. This layout enables retaining traditional division of the stadium with away section in the north and sections for most vocal fans in the east.

An important part of the project is the construction of a three-storey underground car park on the side of Bonifraterska Street. It will contain 778 parking spaces, which will be open to the public outside match days. The underpass will link the stadium and both arenas together.

The project is to be implemented in three stages. The first will involve the construction of a sports hall (with a capacity of 2,000 spectators), a Sports Support Centre and an underground car park. The actual construction of the stadium will not begin until the second stage, when three new stands (north, south and east) will be built. The third phase is the redevelopment of the main stand.

The pitch is to remain in place indefinitely, allowing uninterrupted use of the stadium. It is estimated that it will take until the end of 2023 to complete all the formalities and the implementation of the first phase, which should take two years, will start in 2024. The second phase is also expected to take two years (2026-2027) and the remodelling of the main stand will need another year (2028).

The investment is to be carried out as a public-private partnership. The cost of the project is estimated at PLN 500 million, of which the city intends to cover only around 20%. The rest is to be provided by a private investor, who in return will be able to manage the facilities for 30 years.