Ten renowned architectural firms have advanced to the second round of the international competition to design the Nové Bazaly Stadium in Ostrava. The city aims for the stadium to become the best football venue in the country and a distinctive architectural landmark for Ostrava.

City awaits project submissions

Nearly thirty architectural firms from around the world entered the competition. Based on expert jury recommendations, Ostrava city officials narrowed down the participants. The ten selected teams are now invited to submit their competition projects by the end of May, confirmed Ostrava City Hall spokesperson Gabriela Pokorná. The jury consists of esteemed architects, including Valerie Mulvin from Ireland, who was previously involved in evaluating Ostrava’s new concert hall competition – a project that started construction last year. Also on the panel is Ostrava-based architect Tadeáš Goryczka, as was the case for the concert hall project.

The other jury members include representatives from the city and Baník football club, as well as experts in sports, fire safety, budgeting, and structural engineering, Pokorná added. The city anticipates selecting a competition winner by the end of the year. Ostrava’s mayor, Jan Dohnal, acknowledged that an international architectural competition is a costly and time-consuming endeavor but expressed confidence that the final outcome will be worth it. We want to create an extraordinary structure that future generations will also appreciate, he explained.

© Jörg Pochert | Bazaly 

What will the investment include?

The new football stadium, with a seating capacity of up to 20,000, will be built on the site of Baník Ostrava’s former home ground. The club was forced to leave the location in 2015 due to the stadium failing to meet technical standards. Since then, Baník has played its home matches at the municipal stadium in Vítkovice. Nové Bazaly will meet the standards required to host prestigious international matches. The complex will also feature a Baník museum and fan merchandise stores.

Once the winning design is chosen, the city will launch a tender for the preparation of project documentation. In an ideal scenario, construction could begin between 2029 and 2030, Dohnal stated. The estimated cost of building the new stadium is 2.5 billion CZK.

© Jörg Pochert | Bazaly