Year-round skiing on the outskirts of Prague? For 5 billion, a giant complex is to be built there. Samková also likes him
You wake up in the summer, grab your skis and go to the slopes… So far, this is just an absurd idea in the Czech Republic, but in a few years it may be a reality. A giant multifunctional sports complex could be built on the outskirts of Prague, including a half-kilometer-long snow-covered track running all year round!
Sport Areál Lahovice is a planned project in the south of the metropolis, which is described as one of the largest sports facilities in the Czech Republic. “With a total cost of almost five billion crowns, coming exclusively from private investors, a unique and universally accessible sports center will be created, enabling the operation of a number of popular industries even in adverse climatic conditions,” says the main project’s website.
In addition to the aforementioned indoor slopes, it will offer another 33 sports venues for at least 17 different sports. It should include a cross-country circuit, a cycling track, two ice rinks for hockey and figure skating, a swimming pool or tennis, squash or badminton courts.
“It is a very interesting project that can make winter sports more accessible to children and people. It would definitely help to expand the membership base and help both children and representatives in training, “praises, for example, the Olympic snowboardcross champion Eva Samková. Her coach Marek Jelínek, on the other hand, claims that thanks to “domestic” training, Czechs can get closer to normal foreign conditions. “Then we could have a lot of Evka Samks here. Let’s hope that it will turn out so that children can go there and sometimes train even representatives, “says Jelínek.
However, the approval of the capital is required to start the project. This is despite the fact that the estimated costs of CZK 4.76 billion will be paid exclusively by private investors (they expect returns within 20 years). At first, the Prague Institute for City Planning and Development opposed the plan. Therefore, the project has changed dramatically in the last year. According to the latest proposal, it should be extremely energy efficient (artificial snow for the piste will be processed only from rainwater), which includes a P + R car park with hundreds of charging stations for electric cars, and is considering a new train station to relieve the Prague ring road. congested car network.
Visualization of the giant Lahovice sports complex
If all goes well, Praguers and other sports enthusiasts could start using the area as early as 2026.