According to an article under the title Billionaire Dědek retreats from his plan to construct a grandiose arena in Pardubice Miliardář Dědek couvá od plánu na výstavbu megalomanské arény v Pardubicích | E15.cz, which appeared in E15.cz on August 3^rd, 2022, developer Petr Dědek and his DD Group seem to be drawing back from their plan to build a vast multi-purpose ice-hockey stadium, a four-star hotel, a conference  centre, a restaurant and a multi-storey car park right alongside the finishing straight at Pardubice racecourse. The new development would be on a piece of land that belongs to the Town of Pardubice and is currently a part of the Pardubice racecourse area.

Petr Dědek, currently rated as the 65^th richest person in the Czech Republic, took over Dynamo Pardubice ice-hockey club in 2020, at a time when the club was in serious danger of being relegated to the second division for the first time in the modern era. The fortunes of Dynamo Pardubice appear to have been turned round, and we hope it has returned to its position as a leading Czech hockey club. Dědek’s stated aim is to build the best hockey stadium in the country and a team worthy of the stadium, and to provide hotel and conference facilities that will benefit the town and the east Bohemia region.

The plan for a grandiose new hockey stadium right next to the famous old racecourse has been opposed by just about everyone in Czech horseracing. Josef Váňa points out that the plans show no understanding of the basic needs of racehorses and horseracing, or of the unique history of the Velka Pardubicka and the racecourse. Jaroslav Müller, president of Dostihový spolek, organisers of events at Pardubice racecourse, states that the development would be a disaster for horseracing in Pardubice, and would hasten the demise of the racecourse. Mirek Petraň, former president of Dostihový spolek, is an architect. He designed the new Town Grandstand that was opened at Pardubice racecourse in 1998, and about 20 years ago he also redesigned major improvements to the hockey club’s present stadium in the town centre. He has argued convincingly that the present racecourse area would be an unsuitable location for the projected vast multi-purpose hockey stadium, which would be a disastrous neighbour for the historical racecourse.

The Town of Pardubice is the majority shareholder in Dostihový spolek, and has provided considerable financial support over the years to keep the racecourse and also the Dynamo Pardubice hockey club solvent. Almost all sports facilities in the Czech Republic have been loss-making in the period since 1989. Professional sport as a whole has produced large numbers of international class performers who have had to go abroad to develop their careers. The alternative has been to remain at home and perform in mainly tumbledown stadiums and in underfunded clubs. Plenty of moves have been made by municipalities such as Pardubice and by wealthy individuals and groups of enthusiasts to invest money and effort into building international-level clubs and stadiums, but with very limited success until now.

Petr Dědek’s proposal was welcomed by some Pardubice town councillors. They welcomed his readiness to invest heavily in establishing a grandiose multi-purpose hockey stadium in Pardubice, which would bring a magnificent new set of facilities - ‘the best in Europe’ - to east Bohemia. Petr Dědek has been a major investor in golf club management. I think it is true to say that all current golf clubs in the Czech Republic were newly set up after 1989, and that golf facilities in the country have developed very successfully. Petr Dědek’s company is very active in golf club management, and has contributed to the development of golf courses and club facilities. Dědek’s investment in Dynamo Pardubice and in golf management has demonstrated his commitment to sport in Pardubice and in the Czech Republic.

Some Town councillors have given their whole-hearted support to Dědek’s projects, and consider him to be the ‘white knight’ that the hockey club has been waiting for. Others have perhaps just hoped to put an end to the Town propping up local loss-making sports associations with their constant appeals for help with maintenance and repairs. They argue that selling part of the racecourse area to a wealthy investor would be in the Town’s best interest, as it would help Dynamo Pardubice to stand on its own feet, and reduce the need for the Town to involve itself in managing professional sports activities. The private sector, they argue, should provide the dynamic organisation skills that professional sport needs.

For various reasons, however, others have questioned Dědek’s record as a benefactor and as a sound developer. The small shareholders in Dostihový spolek have complained that they were not kept properly informed about negotiations between the Town and Petr Dědek.  In particular, the main minority shareolder, Richard Benýšek, has opposed the proposed developments. Richard Benýšek is an investor from Olomouc, and is well known as the right-hand man of Petr Kellner, the richest Czech, who died in an air crash on a skiing holiday in Alaska in March 2021.

Petr Dědek is well used to opposition to his proposed projects, and to criticism of his company’s projects during their construction and after their implementation. Wealthy developers have to be thick-skinned and able to get their projects done in the face of opposition, and Dědek has a record of not giving up. His hesitancy about going ahead with the hockey stadium project seems not to be because of the objections raised by his opponents. He has announced that he is delaying his decision on proceeding with the project until the autumn. There seem to be two main issues that are causing him to rethink.

Firstly, the cost of the project has increased greatly in recent months due to the rapidly rising cost of construction materials and construction works. The estimated cost of the hockey stadium project six months ago was three to four billion Czech crowns. At the present time, the cost would be considerably higher and considerably more uncertain. Dědek can no longer be sure that his project is viable.

Secondly, Petr Dědek has stipulated that the Town of Pardubice must carry out certain infrastructure projects that will enable 13 000 hockey fans and even greater numbers of participants in other events at the multi-purpose facility to get easily to and from the stadium, the multi-storey car park and the hotel. This would involve a considerable amount of road-building, a footbridge over a major road and over the adjacent single-track railway, not to mention, presumably, drinking water and sewage pipes, streetlighting, etc. It is not clear that the Pardubice municipality is willing and able to deliver what Dědek requires.

As far as Czech horseracing is concerned, Dědek’s proposal is clearly unwelcome. It is racehorse-unfriendly, and it would destroy the old-world charm of the unique racecourse, which is an irreplaceable cultural and historical monument. The racecourse and the Velka Pardubicka are Pardubice’s main claim to fame, apart from the Semtex factory. Many fans of horseracing at Pardubice are at the same time fans of Dynamo Pardubice, and wish the hockey team a successful future, but not as our uncomfortably very close neighbours.

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See also my earlier article on this topic posted on this website on June 1^st. Existential threat to the Velka Pardubicka | Dostihový svět (dostihovy-svet.cz)