The fate of the winter stadium on Štvanice is still unclear

photo: © Milan Sýkora (www.milansykora.net)

Prague - The Prague city hall still does not know what to do with the dilapidated ice rink on Štvanice. It has been closed since January due to its poor condition and faces demolition. Whether the cultural monument will be repaired or demolished was to be determined by the building authority of Prague 7. However, the decision was left to the city hall, which is not pleased with this. Alexandra Udženija (ODS) told ČTK today.
      "They did not give us a clear message about what to do with the rink. I therefore instructed our department to request a clear opinion from the building authority," noted Udženija.
      At the turn of the year, part of the roof collapsed in the building. The building authority for Prague 7 subsequently prohibited access to the rink. A subsequent assessment commissioned by the city hall warned of the threat of immediate collapse of some parts of the building. According to the assessment, any reconstruction of the rink would be very expensive, as the structures of the building would need to be dismantled, its damaged parts replaced, reinforced, and reassembled.
      The condition of the rink, which is a cultural monument, is criticized by the association Acta non verba (ANV). They fear that the company Meridianspa, which according to the contract with the city hall is supposed to take the entire island into use, will build a hotel instead of the rink. Udženija denies this. According to her, the company has no plans for such a construction.
      Acta non verba is criticizing the city leadership for not securing adequate protection for the rink. Although it is supposed to be monitored by a security agency 24 hours a day, on Wednesday before midnight, members of the association reportedly did not see any guard around the rink.
      "We walked around the entire rink twice, turned the door handles, but we did not encounter anyone. There is a hole in the exterior of the rink that allows easy access. So we entered at our own risk, took photographs, and left again. Even though we were around the rink for about an hour, we did not sight anyone from the permanent, 24-hour security," said ANV director Vojtěch Razima to ČTK.
      "I will immediately look into it. If it is true that we are paying someone and they are not acting, that is a serious matter," reacted Udženija.
      ANV suspects the city hall of intentionally lacking security. "Homeless people thus have a free path to complete the work of destruction," ANV wrote in a press release. This was dismissed as nonsense by Udženija.

photo: © Milan Sýkora (www.milansykora.net)