Dripping water, rust and technology at risk. When will the repair of the Slovany swimming pool begin?

The indoor pool will remain closed for a few months due to the renovation of the technical facilities. Reconstruction will begin on July 1. During the construction work, the outdoor swimming pool will be in operation, which will be covered by an inflatable hall after the summer season.

I enter the interior of the complex with its director and at the same time the chairman Swimming club Slavia University of Pilsen Tomas Kotora. We find ourselves under the concrete bathtub of the indoor pool, set on concrete pillars. Above our heads, water drips through cracks in the concrete, metal parts are covered with rust, pumps and other technologies are humming around. “The condition is really dire, all of this must be removed and replaced with new distribution lines. Here we have modern technologies for water quality treatment, which are among the best in the country and do not smell of chlorine at all. Water is dripping onto our expensive equipment, we are afraid that it will damage it,” Tomáš Kotora points to rusted pipes and puddles of water on the ground.

Tomáš Kotora, director of the Slovany swimming pool, on the state of the pool and its reconstruction:

The water also gets down through the overflow channels around the pool, which are long past the limit of their service life. “Many people think that we will only change these gutters, but it’s not that simple,” his boss tells me already at the top of the pool, adding that all the pipes from the pool to the perimeter walls will have to be dug up, replaced with new ones, concreted and lay paving stones. “As part of this event, we will also replace the inadequate metal starting blocks around the entire pool with new, Olympic ones, so that the prestigious 25 and 50 meter races can continue to be held here,” adds Tomáš Kotora.

The operator of the complex is the Slávia University of Pilsen Swimming Club with more than 1,940 members, of which almost 1,700 are children. The club also has about the same number of children in its swimming school every year. Athletes lack facilities and change in the same changing rooms as visitors from the public. “That should change as part of the reconstruction,” reminds Tomáš Kotora, opening an inconspicuous door near the swimmer’s statue in front of the pool building. The cold room doors to several rooms remind us that a dumpling factory operated in these spaces. This is where the background for the club will be created. “In addition to the changing rooms, the project includes a kitchen and a sauna for athletes with a cooling pool,” explains the director.

LOOK: The Slovany swimming pool has new facilities

Our next stop is the outdoor pool. Preparations will soon begin in its vicinity for the installation of an inflatable hall that will cover the pool at the end of the summer. Thanks to it, it will be possible to bridge the period when the main pool will be closed. The hall will be connected to the interior space by a tube. Weather permitting, the summer season will start at the beginning of May. Tomáš Kotor’s wish is that preparations for the hall begin as soon as possible: “We need to open the outdoor pool quickly, so that we can then close the inside, so that it does not happen that both pools are out of order. But first we have to repair the tub of the outdoor pool, replace the damaged pavement around it and replace the mosaic on the bottom with tile tracks so that training can be done there. The supplier of the inflatable hall will then place moorings for it around the pool and lay new paving around the entire pool. In the direction of the accommodation facility, there will be an extension with technology and also a warehouse, where the hall will always be folded up in the summer.”

The indoor pool will be closed for several months due to renovations. “We already know the exact date, the work will start on July 1, when the indoor pool will begin to be drained. We coordinate everything with companies and city representatives at coordination meetings. But we definitely want to limit traffic as little as possible,” adds Tomáš Kotora.

The city of Pilsen will release tens of millions of crowns from its budget for the above-mentioned adjustments. “We allocated 55 million crowns from the budget for the reconstruction of cleaning and overflow channels. We will build new facilities for swimmers for 15 million crowns. At the same time, we are working on the preparation of the construction of an inflatable hall for 20 million. In the future, sports teams will swim in it, and the main pool will then be fully reserved for the public. It will be more accessible to all regular visitors,” says Pilsen Mayor Roman Zarzycký regarding the financing of the reconstruction and other projects, adding that preparations for the construction of a new swimming pool in Borské polý are still ongoing.

Visualization of the new swimming pool at Borské polý:

Visualization of the new pool.Source: MMP

The saunas, children’s pool and paddling pool will remain in operation throughout the renovation. But saunas are also waiting for a change in the future. The swimming area should expand to include a sauna world. “Five types of saunas will be added, for example herbal and a large ceremonial one with a stove in the middle, as well as a relaxation zone and also a Kneipp walkway. There is a lot of interest in saunas. I get several emails a day from people complaining about the insufficient capacity, which is now 30 people. Sauna world was supposed to be standing, we have a finished project, but covid came and everything stopped. I believe that we will soon continue with his preparations,” concludes Tomáš Kotora.