The representatives of Prague 11 did not agree on the approach to the Ice Sports Complex

Prague – Today, representatives of the eleventh Prague district did not reach agreement on the next steps regarding the participation of Prague 11 in the joint-stock company AR Delta, which is building the Ice Sports Arena (ALS) in the territory of Jižní Město. The Prague 11 council approved a resolution in September regarding a review of the district's equity participation in the project. The municipality currently owns half of the shares in the company that is building the sports facility. ALS, which will feature an indoor ice rink and curling lanes, is currently being constructed near the Ke Kateřinkám elementary school.

Today, the council members approved only a resolution regarding ALS, stating that "the interest in constructing and subsequently successfully operating ALS still persists." The representatives discussed the construction of the sports facility and AR Delta for several hours. Proposals for resolutions regarding the next steps were submitted by opposition representatives Jiří Štyler (Movement for Prague 11 - HPP11) and Ladislav Kos Sr. (HPP11). However, their proposals were not approved by the council. The proposal from the mayor of Prague 11 Jiří Dohnal (Pirates), deputy mayor Martin Sedeke (ODS), and representative and chair of the ANO club in Prague 11 Martin Horák (ANO) also did not gain sufficient support. According to their resolution proposal, Prague 11 should sell its share for at least 40 million. This way, the municipality would recover the funds invested in the construction of the sports facility, as the Pirates stated on their website on Wednesday. The authors of the resolution made the sale of the share conditional, among other things, on the use of the ice rink in ALS by students from schools established by Prague 11. There was also discussion about the district council of Prague 11 starting negotiations with the Prague magistrate about purchasing the share of the second shareholder in AR Delta. This was to occur if the second shareholder of the company AR Delta did not exercise its preemptive right to the shares of Prague 11 in the company.

The sports facility by the elementary school is currently under construction. According to earlier information, the arena was to open in the autumn of 2022. The estimated construction cost is according to the contract between AR Delta and Syner 194 million crowns excluding VAT. The construction loan was provided by PPF Bank and, according to the current chairman of the board of AR Delta, Petr Přenosil, it amounts to 135 million crowns.

Preparations for ALS began with a private investor in 2014. Construction work started at the beginning of 2019 with the expectation that the project would cost approximately 120 million crowns and be completed by mid-2020. The municipality provided the company with land for construction, and the investor was to build the sports facility at their own expense. Subsequently, AR Delta offered participation in the project to the capital city. It did not become a direct partner in the project, and the eleventh district got involved in the construction of the arena. Thus, Prague 11 became a shareholder of the company last year, acquiring a 50% stake. Thanks to a subsidy from the Prague magistrate, the municipality purchased shares in the company for five million crowns. An additional 35 million crowns was obtained from Prague as an interest-free loan for increasing the company's capital.

The newly established joint-stock company is overseen by a board of directors. The position of chair of this board has been held by deputy mayor Sedeke from 2020 until this summer. He resigned from the position, among other things, because the board approved contracts that he deemed risky for AR Delta. These include contracts with the builder and the provision of a bank loan. The main project manager Karel Kubeška had previously rejected this. This year, three other members of the company’s board of directors also resigned. The municipality is now represented in the board by only one member instead of four, who were nominated by the individual coalition parties. This is Přenosil, who was appointed to the board on behalf of the municipality by the Pirates.

The coalition of Pirates, ANO, ODS, TOP 09, and STAN governs Jižní Město. The municipality, home to 77,600 residents, includes the cadastral areas of Chodov and Háje.