This Is Going to be Czech Republic’s Largest Sports and Leisure Complex

The result of a public competition, Chybik + Kristof Architects & Urban Designers were selected to complete the construction of the Jihlava Multipurpose Arena.

A vibrant multifunctional complex, the four-building project brings together sports, culture, and social venues open to diverse audiences.

Revisiting the site as an urban sociocultural campus, they act together to revive the notion of public space and integrate the long-neglected area to Jihlava’s city centre.

The construction, due to begin in 2021 and end in 2023, will build on the city’s existing hockey stadium, a deteriorating indoor sporting arena built in 1956, and expand into a four-building multifunctional centre bringing together an adaptable ice rink, a rooftop running track and a gym as well as a sports academy, hospitality establishments and shops.

Hosting both regional sporting and cultural events, the completed structure will act as a public platform open to a variety of audiences for a diverse range of activities, in an effort to revitalise this area of the city. The new structure unfolds into four distinct buildings, two of which already exist, connected through open-air walkways and green spaces.

While the existing rectangular stadium undergoes full reconstruction and the sports academy is maintained as a key element of the site, they are both refurbished to host new functionalities and better blend within the overall environment and its signature aesthetic.

The oval arena is structurally conceived as a versatile space: the interior space, endowed with the complex technical equipment necessary, serves at once as a hockey rink, exhibitions, and events hall, and concert venue, complemented by an indoor gym. On its roof rests an outdoor track, further enriching the building’s sports functionality and inviting audiences to look upon the surrounding views of the city. Adjacent to it, the architects have placed a hospitality building.

Combining a restaurant, hotel, gym, and office spaces, it is exclusively dedicated to enriching visitors’ multifaceted experience of the complex and ensures the connection with the neighbouring sports venue.