Odra Opole home first ‘Green’ venue in Poland

Article posted by Coliseum, July 3^rd, 2023

Image: City of Opole

The I liga team Odra Opole of Poland’s new home venue which is presently under construction has gone through “forced” design adjustments due to the soaring energy prices globally. The stadium is scheduled to be up and running by the second half of 2024 and will enjoy the status of being the first ‘Green’ stadium in Poland.

‘City of Opole’ stated that the contractor was forced to bring alterations in the design of the facility due to the above reason and now with these changes it will help to reduce the operating costs of the stadium.

The Odra Opole is a football club based in Opole, Poland, currently playing in the I liga. Their home ground is the 3,300-capacity Odra Stadium in Opole, Poland.

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I liga, currently named Fortuna I liga due to its sponsorship by Fortuna, is the men’s second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa (the top Polish professional league for men’s association football teams) and above the II liga via promotion/relegation systems.

The 11,600-capacity Stadion Miejski w Opolu is the new home of Odra Opole which is presently under construction in Oleska, Opole, Poland.

‘City of Opole’ further stated that with the changed design, it will be a ‘Green’ stadium in the real sense of the term with photovoltaic roofs, heat pumps and other elements which will make the arena largely dependent on conventional energy sources.

The ‘Green Stadium’ project has been drawn up and being implemented by the main contractor, Mirbud (real estate builders and construction company in Skierniewice, Poland), together with SMG Śląsk, a leader in the development of ecological installation systems.

The energy prices are going up around the world and are being attributed to the pandemic, Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as extreme climate conditions.

The volatility in fuel prices forced the investors of the stadium as well as the contractor to look toward ‘Green’ energy sources. As part of the ‘Green’ initiative, 280 kW of photovoltaic (PV) panels will be installed on three sides of the stadium roof – West, East and South. The PV panels will be complemented with heat pumps.

Energy usage is highest on gamedays and is also required to heat the pitch. Due to the usage of ‘Green’ energy the maintenance costs will also come down. Heating of the turf takes up a lot of energy and the entire energy infrastructure has been so installed that even in case of power disruptions, the generator backup will work.

The energy network installation is in keeping with the guidelines laid down by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for sustainable sports infrastructure which gives import on the fact that stadia will have to be low-emission ones and energy-efficient.

The contractor Mirbud boasts extensive experience in building ‘Green’ facilities. The facility will use 100 percent renewable energy and this will also cut down on the maintenance costs.

Put in Patryk Stasiak, President of the Management Board of Zakład Komunalny (Municipal Department), “I think the volatility in energy prices is here to stay for some time and will not go away soon and so the design modifications made to the venue will result in less consumption of energy and fuels and the operating costs of the arena will come down.”

The design changes price tag is circa PLN 10 million. The introduction of Renewable Energy System (RES) at the Opole Stadium will help in generating clean energy. The stature of the stadium will also rise as the Stadion Miejski w Opolu will be the first ‘Green’ stadium in Poland and also the first to use RES to such a large extent.

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