New sports facilities will be built in Prague, the strategy has been approved by the councilors

Prague – The Prague City Hall should build new sports facilities and expand sports infrastructure for public and schools. This arises from the sports development strategy until 2032, which was approved today by the city councilors. According to the councilor for education and leisure, Vít Šimral (Pirates), there is a lack of a velodrome in Prague, swimming pools should also be expanded, and multifunctional halls should be built. He added that the City Hall is currently preparing a plan for priority investments, which should be completed in June.

"The strategy is a foundation for us to create action plans for at least the next 12 years," the councilor said. Subsequent plans will be more specific and will outline the city's approach for each four-year period. The councilor added that the city will now negotiate the construction of new sports facilities with the National Sports Agency. According to him, the council will soon approve a package of about eight smaller investments in sports facilities, especially in urban districts.

Regarding new sports facilities, a list is being prepared that will also take into account how prepared the projects are. The aim will be to supplement the sports facilities that are currently lacking in the metropolis, such as the velodrome. This could be established in Prague 5. According to the councilor, the Šutka swimming pool or the pools in Strahov and Podolí are also expected to be expanded. The construction of multifunctional halls, which combine spaces for indoor sports with a climbing wall, will also be important, Šimral added.

According to the approved strategy, there are currently 1,176 sports complexes in the metropolis, not counting smaller outdoor playgrounds. The city should focus, in addition to facilities for performance sports, on the construction, renovation, and modernization of school sports infrastructure. Given the demographic forecasts, new sports facilities should be created mainly in the southeastern and northeastern peripheries of the capital, where new construction is arising and will arise. "Key groups that the City of Prague wants to focus on include children aged 6 to 18 years, seniors, or persons with disabilities," the document states.

The city supports the operation and development of sports facilities through subsidies to sports organizations. For this year, councilors approved CZK 318.2 million, which will go to subsidies to support sports. Opposition councilors from ANO criticized the fact that this amount is significantly lower than in the previous electoral term. Šimral said that the amount approved today is not final, but will increase.