Horácký Ice Arena (Horácký zimní stadion)

   
Horácký Ice Arena (Horácký zimní stadion), now CZ LOKO Arena, is located in close proximity to the historic centre of Jihlava. The site on which it stands has been dedicated to sport since 1925. At that time, a disused warehouse was removed from the site and a new Sokol training ground with an oval-shaped running track, a grandstand, and a music pavilion were built. Right next door, on Tolstého Street, Bohuslav Fuchs built the Sokol House in the mid-1930s, which still remains one of the most important functionalist buildings in the city today.

The establishment of the Horácký Ice Arena dates back to the 1950s. Its foundation stone was laid in September 1954 and the opening ceremony took place on the last day of December 1955. At that time, the ice arena was only of an uncovered outdoor ice rink with stands. The construction of the service building, which faces Tolstého Street, was not started until a year later, according to a project by the architect Vladimír Háva from Jihlava. The building's open three-wing layout curves slightly in its centre, and the site is also accentuated by an access staircase, communicating thus with the opposite university building. The monumentality hidden in strict symmetry and the work with classical elements correspond to the socialist realism of that time.

The appearance of the stern looking building was eventually changed by a double inverted truss roof that was installed over the open ice rink from 1966–1967. The author of the project was Jan Řídký, an employee of Stavoprojekt Jihlava. The steel structure with a suspended glass façade created a huge marquee over the ice rink, which is cut by a strip skylight at the top. This engineering structure is probably the most interesting feature in the whole ice arena today. In 1959, the ice rink in Brno-Lužánky was to receive a roof based on the same principle, the double inverted truss, designed by Stavoprojekt Brno, which was the controlling entity of Stavoprojekt Jihlava. However, the project was not implemented for financial reasons.

Jan Řídký conceived the side walls of the Horácký Ice Arena in a modernist way in many aspects. As with his previous project in Jihlava, the TJ Spartak indoor swimming pool and gymnasium, he let the reinforced concrete skeleton stand out. Formally, it was a continuation of the neighbouring Sokol House designed by Bohuslav Fuchs. Several extensions were later added to the main arena. On the west side, there is a fitness centre and restaurant building from the late 1980s. On the eastern side, there is a side hall with a small skating rink and facilities built in 2011.

The site where the Horácký Ice Arena stands is likely to undergo significant changes in the future. The city is planning to build a new multipurpose arena to replace the existing one. The arena was officially closed in the spring of 2022. The design of the new Horácká Multipurpose Arena was developed by the Chybík + Krištof studio, which succeeded in the architectural competition held in 2019. Second place was awarded to Projektil architekti and third place went to the team of architects comprising Jakub Našinec, Aleš Kubalík, Josef Kocián, and Veronika Sávová.

According to the design drawn up by the Chybík + Krištof studio, the Horácká Arena will consist of four buildings, two of which will be brand new. The largest building will be the oval arena itself, offering up to 5,600 seats. Unlike the existing ice rink, the new arena will be a multipurpose building that can serve as an ice-hockey rink with parameters for the Czech Extraliga, a basketball court or a tennis court, as well as an exhibition space or a concert hall. An outdoor running track will be situated on the arena roof. In addition, garages will be built underground. Next to the arena, towards Tolstého Street, a new high-rise building with a gymnasium, accommodation facilities, and a fan shop will be built. The current facilities building and the hall with the small ice rink will remain on site, but they will be modernised and visually unified with the new buildings. The red and white façade of the arena will be made of perforated sheet metal installed on the brickwork, while the interior will open outwards thanks to shaded windows – according to the architects, the views of the city will help visitors to find their way inside the building. Physically, the buildings will be connected by outdoor pedestrian paths, in red again, and by walkways on the underground floors. The fact that Tolstého Street will become an avenue with less traffic will be another big change. "The building also has the ambition to become an icon, much needed to build a relationship with the city, the region, and its citizens," add the architects from Chybík + Krištof.

The new multipurpose arena will be significant for the city, and for the entire region, too. Besides the city of Jihlava, the investors also include the Vysočina Region and the National Sports Agency (Národní sportovní agentura). In August 2022, the Jihlava Municipal Council stated that the quotations submitted by companies for the construction of the multifunctional arena ranged between CZK 1,900,000,000 and 2,250,000,000.

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