Pardubice owner Petr Dědek | Photo: hcdynamo.cz
In Dynamo he enters his sixth season as the owner, the desired gold still escapes. He does not worry about it, but in the summer he signed a shareholder agreement with the city for the next 20 years. Petr Dědek will now have a well -known neighbor for the stadium – the football Pardubice was bought by Karel Pražák, the owner of the hockey Sparta. How does he compare football with hockey and what way would he like to direct the extra league?
The word title did not fall throughout the press conference. Was it the intention?
We are an ambitious club. Everyone wants to win. I’m glad we were twice in the finals. Even if you want to raise the cup, the silver medal is not a shame. The Extraliga is a strong competition and better every year. We want to go as far as possible, and I believe it will come.
Behind the house you will now have the owner of the hockey Sparta – Karel Pražák. What will it mean for Dynamo?
It’s a little spicy. I wrote to him to be doing well. It would be a pity if the football Pardubice fallen from the highest competition. It wanted a strong owner. It makes me happy that more movable people have come into sports, because in general, money goes little. But somehow I do not solve that the competitor in hockey is here near us.
“It makes me happy that more movable people have come into sports, because in general, money goes to it.”
Isn’t there a risk that the football club will take over any partners?
We are not afraid of it. Dynamo is marketing somewhere else, has its fans. It’s a completely different competition.
From the investor’s point of view, the hockey market is limited, football is completely different. You have speculated about the initial interest of entering football Hradec, but it has passed. Didn’t you think of football somewhere else?
Trade policy is completely different from hockey. We talked several times about coffee, but the combination of football and hockey, moreover in another city, told me immediately. Hockey cannot be earned much, so on football yes. Football investments are a big roulette. Hockey is a little charity. When you have a club like Dynamo Pardubice, you do it for fans. They have come here for over a hundred years, the club has a huge history. I hope it will continue.
In June you signed a contract with the town hall, you will take care of the club for the next 20 years. Do you have any visions where the club should be for 5 or 20 years?
We are one of the few clubs that is secured in Europe like this. The shareholders committed themselves to investing billions of crowns in the club. We want to be at the top not only in terms of sports, but we also want to be the leader in marketing and invest in technology. We try to work with youth so that the academy is top. It is not visible now, it needs some time.
The NHL counts on the European division in the future, the infrastructure would probably be here. Do you also look in this direction?
Yes, we’ve already met. We are always active and we look at what is happening in the world. The hall needs a filling. NHL organizes world cups, starts again. We would like a group to happen here. The infrastructure is here – the airport is ready and invested, the new arena should be ten minutes along the airport circuit. It’s well connected. Maybe some of it will be brought to Pardubice.
Still, the hall should be for more than 20,000 people and will be one of the largest in the world?
This is true, and I hope that next spring we could set the date of completion and communicate more information.
Do you think that in the future there will be revenue from television and marketing rights in hockey?
We show that marketing is important for the whole extraleague. It is necessary to work with APK. The basis is the sports side of the extra league, which I think is going to move. We need to invest in stadiums, have stricter licensing conditions. In order to receive more marketing resources, you have to have a background at the stadium. This should be followed by further steps so that we can ask for more money from sponsors. There is no need to invent anything new, just perceive what already works in the world.
“We have new coaches who have our confidence. With the completion of the cadre we can be calmer.”
You praised that all responsibility for the construction of the team was taken over by sports director Petr Sýkora. You said you liked to withdraw and started taking hockey more from above…
That’s right. We have new coaches who have our confidence. With the completion of the cadre we can be calmer. Not only the implementation team, but also the team has strengthened so that it is probably the best we have ever had. Filip Pešán has eight quality backs and something in the reserve. Petr Sýkora did a good job with the arrival of Vladimír Sobotka, we do not have to talk about Jakub Lauk at all. He has huge experience, fits in the character of the cabin. Complement is great, I’m very happy with him. We have an interesting season.
The cadre is very wide, some quality players do not even fit on the roster of the A-team. In the case of injury, the team will be more successful. Is it lessons from last season?
Competition and width of the cadre is important. We are talking about players like Jan Stránský, who has long worked in the extraleague and now is in the B’s for a while, but he will play up with injuries. Likewise, young people who get a chance. Injuries come regularly every season and last year it ran us a bit. We didn’t have the cadre so wide, then it was obvious in the finals.
Your cadre is about half the representatives. Do you already have any agreement with the management of national teams so that they do not take all players during pauses?
It worked last season, when the coach of the national team agreed with our coaches on who he would take. We also have representatives from Slovakia, there is a bit more complicated. In February it will be quite interesting, but we have to deal with it. Coaches know this and must set the regime accordingly. If we do not accompany us health problems, I believe that we will go far in the playoffs.
“It is good that young Czech players from lower overseas competitions are returning home.”
There are ever better players coming to the extra league. Do you perceive that the Czech competition has been pulling more in recent years?
It is good that young Czech players from lower overseas competitions return home. They will play a few seasons in the AHL and then put back on the farm instead of snaping on the farm. If the Extraliga was not so strong and interesting, they would stay there. They go to play a quality competition and once they can return to the NHL.
It was planned to limit foreigners in the extraleague, instead clubs can sign how much they want. Meanwhile, you go primarily in the Czech path. What is your look at?
I have always been against the foreigners to flock here if they are not of good quality. Thanks to the current EU legislation, there can be too many foreigners, but that is a matter of other authorities. We do not share the opinion. When the stranger comes, be the player of Peter Mueller and many others. Like many changes in youth competitions, this is not going anywhere. We are a small but hockey strong nation. But we must not sleep, because it will return quickly.
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