Senior Citizens' Cultural Centre and Sports Hall
The concept was presented at a press conference on 25 September 2018 by the Mayor of Opole, Arkadiusz Wiśniewski, and the Rector of our university, Prof. Marek Masnyk. They also showed visualizations of the planned project.
The meeting was also attended by: UO Chancellor Zbigniew Budziszewski, Head of the Department of Education in the Town Hall Irena Koszyk, Deputy Director of the Municipal Centre for Family Assistance Małgorzata Kozak, coordinator of the Information and Educational Centre Senior in Opole Małgorzata Jarosz-Basztabin and Andrzej Zatwarnicki - architect, who designed the project.
The multifunctional senior citizens' cultural centre and sports hall are to be built on a 1 ha land belonging to the University of Opole, located at 14-22 Oleska Street (in the vicinity of the Collegium Medicum of the UO and the Jesuit Church), where today there are buildings and barracks, often in very poor technical condition, and a temporary car park.
'I would like to thank Professor Marek Masnyk, who is the host of the area for the fact that we can present our joint project here today and I will add: another joint project,' said President Wiśniewski. 'It is an initiative addressed to many generations, meeting the needs of both seniors and young people, students. We have been working on it for nearly two years now, and I would like to add that it is a great challenge, as it entails revitalization of a place which is located in the very centre of Opole, and which in no way meets the expectations that we have when it comes to the centre,' he added.
For seniors and students
The future project would consist of two parts: a culture centre for seniors (there are more than 5,000 active seniors in Opole) and a complex containing, among others, classrooms, an archive and a sports hall, which would serve the university, including primarily students. Both parts will be connected by green areas (including the use of the Culture Centre roof for this purpose), intended for all - both seniors and young people.
'The rooms in the Culture Centre will be designed in such a way that they can be adapted for various activities, from workshops for DIY enthusiasts, through painting or handicraft to musical or theatrical undertakings,' explains Małgorzata Kozak, deputy director of MOPR in Opole.
In the building, 25 percent of the area will also be used by the university, adapted for didactic-administrative and archival functions. The whole facility will have 3.5 thousand square meters. In turn, the building of the sports hall will house a handball field and three volleyball fields, as well as an auditorium.
Prof. Marek Masnyk emphasized that the joint project is the next step towards the implementation of the slogan 'The Academic Opole'. - The investments planned here envisage satisfying the needs of both the university and the city - said the Rector. - The moment has come to develop the detailed concept of this place, which the author of the project coped with very well and now we are in the process of the financial assembly, when it comes to this undertaking.
'As the Rector said, the plot has a value of about 8 million zlotys,' said the Mayor, while efforts to obtain money for the construction will include, among others, applying for the EU funds. Only the sports hall itself with full facilities could cost even over ten million zlotys.'
The usable area of both facilities will comprise several thousands square meters, and the sports hall is planned with an auditorium with 200 seats, which will allow for the organization of sports competitions, even of an international character. Approximately 120 parking spaces are also planned.
A joint long-term project
Mayor Wiśniewski emphasized that the project of building a cultural centre for senior citizens and a sports hall is a long-term project. 'I hope that together with the University of Opole we will meet this challenge and that we will convene here in a few years' time to see the effects. For now we will prepare technical documentation, which may take about a year and a half, and then we will know the cost estimate of the investment,' said the Mayor.