MAMGUSTA Architekci has won a design competition to conduct the reconstruction and expansion of Stadion Miejski w Rybniku in the Polish city of Rybnik.
The competition was organised by the Katowice branch of the Association of Polish Architects, and the contracting authority was the City of Rybnik. Following an initial 56 submissions, which resulted in 17 full applications, Warsaw-based MAMGUSTA’s concept was selected.
First opened in 1939, the stadium hosts the city’s top-tier Ekstraliga speedway team, ROW Rybnik, as well as its football club. The design competition was launched after the stadium was deemed not to meet modern-day standards for sports and mass events.
According to the competition guidelines, the speedway track needed to maintain its current length with the football pitch to remain in place. Capacity will increase from 10,384 to 15,000 with a new roof installed.
Thirty VIP lounges will be introduced with the reported PLN 200m (£39.8m/€46.8m/$53.2m) project expected to commence next year. Work will be carried out over five stages in order for the stadium to remain operational.
Mayor of Rybnik, Piotr Kuczera, said: “The city stadium is not only a place for sports events – it is a space that builds the city’s identity, integrates residents and is an important point on the map of Rybnik.
“That is why we wanted the concept of its modernisation to be comprehensive, well thought-out and possible to implement in stages, so that the facility would continue to serve residents.”
MAMGUSTA added in a statement: “Our primary design goal when creating the speedway and football stadium in Rybnik was to design a facility whose architectural expression would subtly and harmoniously fit into the surroundings – beautiful, green, full of old trees, with exposure from the lake as if not from the city centre.
“(A stadium) which will delight with its peace and timeless elegance and will not dominate the surroundings with its garishness… or showiness. Which will be honest and authentic in form, structure, spatial and functional solutions. We based our concept of the reconstruction and expansion of the city stadium on these assumptions.”
