On Monday, April 8, the deadline announced in February by the Czech Football Association (FAČR) passed for submissions in the tender for the development of the land at Prague's Strahov, where the dilapidated Evžen Rošický Stadium currently stands.

Preserving the sporting nature of the area

The main condition was that the Strahov site must continue to serve athletes. The competition's parameters were set to receive proposals for a football stadium and a training center, or at least one of these options. The designs will be evaluated by the association's executive committee at a meeting on April 17. Then, a second stage of the tender will take place. On May 30, the best project will be presented to the general assembly, followed by the announcement of the winner.

© philmensch (cc: by-nc) | epet Arena

Will Sparta fulfill its dream of a new stadium?

Sparta Prague has long been interested in the area directly adjacent to their training center on the site of the former Spartakiada Stadium. The club is interested in building a new facility at its own expense with a capacity of at least 30,000 seats. The stadium could also serve as the home for the Czech national team.

We have prepared a project and presented it to the football association, said spokesperson Ondřej Kasík, quoted by idnes.cz. The current Sparta venue, epet Arena, is slowly aging. Due to requirements, it is not possible to construct a modern, larger facility there.

Negotiations with Sparta have been ongoing since last year and will continue this year. However, to maintain transparency, we announced a competition. We are dealing with a large property, and it is necessary for the matter to be absolutely clear legally and economically, said association president Petr Fousek at a February press conference.

© philmensch (cc: by-nc) | epet Arena

Multi-purpose facility

The competition winner will have nine months to submit an architectural and urban planning study and another five years to prepare and finalize all matters. The stadium should be completed no later than 2035. The stadium owner will lease the land for another 30 years, after which they can become the full owner.

Tomáš Křivda, Sparta's current general director, spoke a few months ago on the X portal about the club's plans for developing the Strahov area: We estimate the cost at 5 to 10 billion czech koruna. We need to build a stadium that can host events other than football matches. Only in this way can the facility have a chance to pay for itself. It must be multi-functional.

However, the tender conditions also allowed for the possibility of exchanging the land for another. An investor would build a training center or stadium in a different location in Prague. If they did not want to retain the sports field at Strahov, they would need to insist on a change in the spatial development plan. The capital and district want Strahov to continue serving athletes.

© pawelsiema | epet Arena

So where, if not at Strahov?

If it is to be a national stadium, then either according to tradition, it should be located at Strahov, or somewhere along the highway. So there is a place where OC Šestka is today, or for example towards the main D1 highway. This means looking for some intersection, for example, at the southeastern or eastern edge of Prague, such as the current location of Kačerov landfill, said Ondřej Boháč, director of the Institute of Urban Planning and Development of Prague, quoted by footballclub.cz.