A new stadium will be built in Bolesławiec on Spółdzielcza Street. Thanks to the efforts of the board of the Bolesłavia Inter-School Sports Club, our city has been selected for the Athletics Orlik project. At the end of July, the Mayor of Bolesławiec received a letter from the PZLA informing him that Bolesławiec had been selected to implement the Athletics Orlik facility. The project is scheduled to begin and be completed in 2010.
A new stadium – new opportunities
The existing stadium will be levelled. Six running tracks with a new surface will be built. The stands will probably also be reconstructed. Ultimately, everything will depend on the designer’s vision. The new stadium will also gradually be equipped with the equipment needed to hold competitions. “Bolesławiec will gain a modern athletics facility where competitions at various levels can be held, even events at the Polish Championships level or international events,” says Bartosz Gruman, president of MKS Bolesłavia, with undisguised enthusiasm. According to the president, the new facility in Bolesławiec will make it possible to hold sports camps in our city using MOSiR’s accommodation and recreational facilities. The new track will be available not only to club athletes, but also to all interested residents of Bolesławiec. Bolesławiec will also gain a new, level football pitch, which will certainly please the players and supporters of BKS Bobrzanie Bolesławiec.
The ministry will co-finance the project
The facility is to receive funding from the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. The PZLA asked the Mayor of Bolesławiec for information about preparations for the stadium reconstruction, as well as about the municipal government’s financial capacity to participate in the project. “I am optimistic about the mayor’s response. We are counting on the city’s help, because another opportunity like this may not arise,” explains Bartosz Gruman, president of MKS Bolesłavia. “We deserve the stadium and the ministry’s support. Because of the club’s continuity of activity, its coaching staff and, above all, the successes of our athletes. It is enough to mention the most recent National Youth Olympics, where we placed 23rd in Poland,” adds the president of Bolesłavia.
We have been seeking to modernize the track for several years...
MKS Bolesłavia has been seeking to modernize the track for several years. “Talks on this matter were held with both the MOSiR director and the city mayor,” says Bartosz Gruman. “Initially, the plan was to build only the bend. Later, the idea emerged to modernize four tracks that would serve all running enthusiasts,” continues the president of Bolesłavia. However, it turned out that the stadium is very uneven. The difference in elevation between two opposite ends of the facility is more than one metre. A year ago, the club received information about the Orliki Lekkoatletyczne 2009–2012 project. Information about the possibility of using the project came at the most appropriate moment imaginable.
The board of MKS Bolesłavia has very good contacts with the authorities of both the PZLA and the DZLA. As a result, the club receives information about all projects directly. “Bolesławiec was submitted and qualified for the project as the first city in Lower Silesia. The other five cities that are also seeking to participate in the project must still wait for decisions. They will be made in August at a meeting of the PZLA board,” explains Justyna Serafińska, secretary of MKS Bolesłavia.
Not every city has a chance to get an Athletics Orlik
To participate in the Athletics Orlik project, several conditions must be met. The city must have an athletics club and athletes. The club must be actively operating and have a coaching staff, while the athletes should achieve successes. The municipal government must also participate in the project.
Ultimately, 21 modern athletics stadiums are to be built in Poland. The first stage will comprise six stadiums. Tracks at newly built facilities cannot have eight lanes, that is, be full-size tracks. They are too expensive. Building a full-size track costs at least PLN 14 million. Tracks may therefore have four or six lanes. The PZLA abandoned the idea of four-lane tracks because they are suitable for training or school competitions. Higher-ranking competitions, such as the Polish multi-events championships, cannot be held on them. It was decided that six-lane tracks would be built. “The decision to build an Athletics Orlik in Bolesławiec is binding,” emphasizes President Gruman. For now, the amount the ministry will allocate to the stadium in Bolesławiec is not yet known. It will be known once the project has been prepared. A decision by the city authorities is also needed. Then the ministry’s funds, together with the municipal government’s money, will make it possible to begin construction.
(information: Marcin Zabawa)