Asta Arena – design description

How did the plans to modernise Piła's speedway stadium happen?

In December 2020, Piła's president Piotr Głowski and the director of the Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre (Miejski Ośrodek Sportu i Rekreacji) Dariusz Kubicki announced plans to modernise Stadion Żużlowy w Pile at a press conference. It was a rather difficult time to undertake such an initiative, firstly because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and secondly due to the suspension of the Polonia Piła speedway club after the 2019 season. However, the initiators came up with the assumption that the dog days provide a good opportunity to carry out the work, and that the reactivation of speedway in Piła and the return of fans to the stands will happen sooner or later anyway.

In order to make the initiative rational, the objectives of the planned modernisation were not set too high. The main goals included the enlargement of the pitch inside the track, the rebuilding of the speedway track and the stands, the upgrading of the floodlighting and the referee tower, the creation of a new machine park, facilities for the riders and the construction of an administration building. It was estimated that the cost of the investment should be between PLN 6 and 10 million.

Carrying out the investment depended on the city obtaining external funding, which should cover a significant part of the costs. The initiators made attempts to acquire subsidies from various government programmes. Eventually, with the help of members of parliament associated with Piła, Grzegorz Piechowiak and Marcin Porzuck, in October 2021 the city received funding from the 'Polish Deal' ("Polski Ład") fund in the amount of PLN 16.65 million (in the meantime, the estimated cost of the works has risen to PLN 18.5 million).

What was the road to the realization of the redevelopment of the speedway stadium in Piła like?

In the spring of 2022, after a two-season break, the Polonia Piła team rejoined league competition. In July 2022, a tender for the modernisation of the stadium was launched. The only bid was submitted by Budimex, but the amount (PLN 42 million) far exceeded the city's possibilities and expectations, so the tender was canceled. Procedures also proved to be an additional obstacle to the investment – the city had problems obtaining a building permit.

In the first half of 2023, smaller works were carried out at the stadium, including the replacement of the track surface and safety fences, as well as the installation of track drainage, pitch irrigation and emergency lighting. The cost of these works was just under PLN 4.3 million. In addition, in the summer of 2023 the venue gained a title sponsor and was renamed Asta Arena.

In June 2023, another tender for the main part of the works was canceled, again due to the contractors' financial expectations being too high. Eventually, it was only at the third attempt that a contractor was selected, which was Zakład Produkcyjno-Handlowo-Usługowy Sławomir Lisiewicz from Chodzież. The contract, worth PLN 22.55 million, was signed at the beginning of November 2023.

When is the Piła speedway stadium to be rebuilt?

A building permit (covering 98% of the scope of work) was issued on February 1, 2024. The reconstruction is to start in February 2024 and last until December 2024. In the first instance, the work will focus on the reconstruction of the eastern stand, then the rest of the renovation work will be carried out. During the reconstruction, the facility is to remain functional.

What does the modernisation concept for the Polonia Piła stadium include?

The reconstruction concept has been prepared by ARCHI-GRAF Janusz Kiciński & Roman Szumny architectural studio. The modernisation includes the rebuilding of stands with the installation of new seats, replacement of lighting and water and sewage systems, refurbishment of the referee tower and changes in the stadium's surroundings.

Due to problems with finding a contractor and the high costs, the plan has been trimmed from the original version, which still included, among other things, the enlargement of the pitch to its standard size, the construction of new pits and backstage facilities. The number of seats in the rebuilt stands was reduced from the originally envisaged 4,970 to 3,830. Work on the speedway track was carried out as a separate task in 2023.