After years spent lagging behind other European capitals, Warsaw looks set to join the elite by building a state-of-the-art sports hall and entertainment arena.
Forecast to cost €350 million, plans to push ahead with the 22,000-seater arena were first announced in May by Sławomir Nitras, the sport and tourism minister, but now look closer than ever to finally being realized.
Set to be constructed next to the National Stadium on the east bank of the River Vistula, the plot must first be transferred from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, something that Nitras has called “a foregone conclusion.” Initially earmarked by the former ruling party, Law and Justice, to serve as the site of a vaunted Museum of Technology and Nature, the land will now instead be signed over to the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. As things stand, this could happen as early as July.
Once it is successfully transferred, government officials promise that conceptual work will begin “immediately.”
The need for a modern sports hall was first mooted over two decades ago, only for the plans to be quietly shelved. Suspicions that this might again be the case have been rejected, including by Nitras. Renata Kaznowska, Warsaw’s vice-president, has also stepped in to underline the importance of the investment.
Kaznowska said: “I am aware that Warsaw, and also Poland, misses many events; many international entities would like to organize events in our capital [but have nowhere to do so]. That is why Warsaw simply needs this hall.”
She added that the city had also calculated a price: “We have already prepared a preliminary cost estimate for such a project. The investment costs should be estimated to come to approximately 1.5 billion złotys [€350 million], but this price takes into account price increases and state-of-the-art technologies. It is worth remembering that the National Stadium cost nearly 2 billion złotys [€464 million] a dozen years ago, but the pandemic aside, has been making money for a decade.”
As reported by the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza on Thursday, Nitras stressed the value of the investment. “The hall, similar to the National Stadium, would have a ‘national character’ and become an arena for the most important events in the country,” he said. “Its construction is, therefore, important not just for the city but for the entire country.”
Continuing, he said: “In Poland, only the Tauron Arena in Kraków is close to the standard [that we want]... The organization [of the most important events] in the capital would also have an impact on the popularization of Poland as a tourist destination, attracting fans from all over the world to Warsaw.”
Warsaw remains the only significant capital in Europe lacking a modern, large-capacity sports arena. In fact, even small nations such as Andorra, Cyprus, Montenegro, and Luxembourg can boast more modern facilities.
Although work is underway on building a 6,000-seater sports hall in the city’s SKRA complex, currently the only viable indoor venue in Warsaw is the outdated 4,800-capacity Torwar. In comparison, every neighboring capital city—Vilnius, Minsk, Bratislava, Prague, and Berlin—boasts an arena holding at least 10,000 spectators.
However, the construction of a 22,000-capacity arena would significantly lift Warsaw’s international profile and even elevate it beyond Berlin, with its Uber Arena (17,000), and London, with its O2 Arena (20,000 seats).
Formidable as the cost may seem, supporters of the investment have pointed to the success of Poland’s other new generation facilities. Costing €83.3 million 10 years ago, Kraków’s Tauron Arena has already turned a profit. According to the relevant city authorities, so have the Ergo Arena in the Tri-City and the Atlas Arena in Łódź.
The country’s newest sports hall, Arena Gliwice, has also been cited as a positive example. Completed in 2018 for €97.4 million, 2022 saw the organization of 213 events.
Previously, plans for a 22,000-seater Warsaw sports hall were drawn up prior to Euro 2012 by JEMS Architecki, an award-winning architectural studio whose credits have since included Warsaw’s Browary Warszawskie mixed-use center and Katowice’s International Congress Center.
With the spatial development plan already adopted and other particulars, such as rules governing a design competition, already in place, Kaznowska emphasized that the city was ready to go ahead with the project.
Most likely to be funded by either a public-private partnership or a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by the State Treasury, Nitras said that a draft bill concerning the financing has already been prepared. Should all go to plan, it is estimated that two years would be necessary to acquire all the relevant permits and another three years for construction.
Set to be constructed next to the National Stadium on the east bank of the River Vistula, the plot must first be transferred from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, something that Nitras has called “a foregone conclusion.” Initially earmarked by the former ruling party, Law and Justice, to serve as the site of a vaunted Museum of Technology and Nature, the land will now instead be signed over to the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. As things stand, this could happen as early as July.
Once it is successfully transferred, government officials promise that conceptual work will begin “immediately.”
The need for a modern sports hall was first mooted over two decades ago, only for the plans to be quietly shelved. Suspicions that this might again be the case have been rejected, including by Nitras. Renata Kaznowska, Warsaw’s vice-president, has also stepped in to underline the importance of the investment.
Kaznowska said: “I am aware that Warsaw, and also Poland, misses many events; many international entities would like to organize events in our capital [but have nowhere to do so]. That is why Warsaw simply needs this hall.”
She added that the city had also calculated a price: “We have already prepared a preliminary cost estimate for such a project. The investment costs should be estimated to come to approximately 1.5 billion złotys [€350 million], but this price takes into account price increases and state-of-the-art technologies. It is worth remembering that the National Stadium cost nearly 2 billion złotys [€464 million] a dozen years ago, but the pandemic aside, has been making money for a decade.”
As reported by the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza on Thursday, Nitras stressed the value of the investment. “The hall, similar to the National Stadium, would have a ‘national character’ and become an arena for the most important events in the country,” he said. “Its construction is, therefore, important not just for the city but for the entire country.”
Continuing, he said: “In Poland, only the Tauron Arena in Kraków is close to the standard [that we want]... The organization [of the most important events] in the capital would also have an impact on the popularization of Poland as a tourist destination, attracting fans from all over the world to Warsaw.”
Warsaw remains the only significant capital in Europe lacking a modern, large-capacity sports arena. In fact, even small nations such as Andorra, Cyprus, Montenegro, and Luxembourg can boast more modern facilities.
Although work is underway on building a 6,000-seater sports hall in the city’s SKRA complex, currently the only viable indoor venue in Warsaw is the outdated 4,800-capacity Torwar. In comparison, every neighboring capital city—Vilnius, Minsk, Bratislava, Prague, and Berlin—boasts an arena holding at least 10,000 spectators.
However, the construction of a 22,000-capacity arena would significantly lift Warsaw’s international profile and even elevate it beyond Berlin, with its Uber Arena (17,000), and London, with its O2 Arena (20,000 seats).
Formidable as the cost may seem, supporters of the investment have pointed to the success of Poland’s other new generation facilities. Costing €83.3 million 10 years ago, Kraków’s Tauron Arena has already turned a profit. According to the relevant city authorities, so have the Ergo Arena in the Tri-City and the Atlas Arena in Łódź.
The country’s newest sports hall, Arena Gliwice, has also been cited as a positive example. Completed in 2018 for €97.4 million, 2022 saw the organization of 213 events.
Previously, plans for a 22,000-seater Warsaw sports hall were drawn up prior to Euro 2012 by JEMS Architecki, an award-winning architectural studio whose credits have since included Warsaw’s Browary Warszawskie mixed-use center and Katowice’s International Congress Center.
With the spatial development plan already adopted and other particulars, such as rules governing a design competition, already in place, Kaznowska emphasized that the city was ready to go ahead with the project.
Most likely to be funded by either a public-private partnership or a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by the State Treasury, Nitras said that a draft bill concerning the financing has already been prepared. Should all go to plan, it is estimated that two years would be necessary to acquire all the relevant permits and another three years for construction.
Source: Gazeta Wyborcza
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