Stadium remains in dispute

While the Bohemians 1905 soccer club languishes in the middle of the Gambrinus liga standings, the battle over the future of the team's former home appears to be coming to an end.

As the aging Ďolíček Stadium sits mostly dormant for the first season in nearly 80 years, playing host to only a handful of "B team" contests, Prague 10 officials say they are moving forward with a feasibility study with hopes of devising a plan that will allow the city to purchase the stadium. But the team's ownership group says that while the Vršovice property that is home to the 7,500-seat stadium is definitely for sale, the chances of the city buying it - or professional soccer ever being played there again - are very slim.

"To run this [property] as a soccer stadium is not practical. Not at all," said Ondřej Oravec, CEO of Prague-based financial group CTY Development, a 50 percent owner of the club and lead negotiators for the property.

Bohemians 1905 were forced to abandon Ďolíček Stadium, which was built in 1932, after it failed to meet new Gambrinus liga standards that took effect this season. A particular sticking point with the league was the stadium's lack of heating beneath the playing field soil. The team signed a five-year deal to share Synot Tip Arena at Eden - also in Prague 10 - with Slavia Praha.

The move was controversial as fans fought to keep the team in its traditional home and accused Prague 10 leaders of wanting to turn the stadium grounds into a residential development. One group of fans formed a political party called Desítka and campaigned in the autumn 2010 elections largely on a platform advocating bringing Bohemians 1905 back to Ďolíček. Desítka won three seats on the Prague 10 council and almost immediately began lobbying City Hall to consider buying the stadium from the club's ownership group and investing in the necessary upgrades required to bring the team back to its original home.

"The current owners have said several times that they don't have the money for the necessary renovations," said Petr Vozobule, a Prague 10 representative and one of the founders of the Desítka party. "Meanwhile, they're forced to play their matches at Eden while their own stadium deteriorates."

Vozobule said Prague 10 already owns the parcel of land across the Botič Creek, which abuts the stadium property.

"All that is there now is a makeshift cinder parking lot," he said. "If we manage to get the stadium and the neighboring property, we could create a state-of-the-art complex, which would meet modern standards and the needs of Prague 10 residents."

Interested parties

Vozobule added while the district leaders have had only "informal" meetings with the team and its ownership group, he believes they are currently the only serious bidder.

But Oravec, who said he has never spoken with Vozobule, said there is plenty of interest in the team, almost exclusively from buyers interested in developing the property rather than maintaining it as a soccer stadium.

"It wouldn't make sense for anyone to try to keep it running as a stadium," he said. "It would cost at least 300 million Kč to renovate the property and bring it up to date. After that, you'll be left with one stadium for one team for a few thousand fans. Does that sound economical? That said, we are prepared to talk to any interested party, whether they want it as a stadium or not."

For Vozobule and the club's vocal fan club, the Družstvo fanoušků Bohemians (DFB), rescuing the stadium is less about the city buying a soccer stadium and more about preserving history.

"This cannot turn into a housing lot. Tradition and values are at stake," said Jan Engel, a longtime fan of the club and DFB member. "Although Ďolíček is like a Trabant and Eden is like a Mercedes, Ďolíček has the tradition. The nostalgia belongs to Ďolíček."

"Prague 10 has always very proudly endorsed its traditions, and rescuing Ďolíček Stadium would be another piece of the mosaic," Vozobule said.

Oravec would not say if he has received any concrete offers for the stadium but said he objects to the thought of the city getting into the stadium-operating business.

"As a citizen of Prague, I'd be the first one against it," he said. "This is government money. I pay taxes every month. I'd rather see that money go to schools or something useful rather than a bad investment like a soccer stadium.

"I'm a football fan, and I'm all for history. But Ďolíček Stadium isn't exactly Charles Bridge."

- Klára Jiřičná contributed to this report.

Jack Buehrer can be reached at
jbuehrer@praguepost.com