Sportovní hala Chemik

There is a hall in Lovosice that does not pretend to be anything other than what it is.

It sits at U Stadionu 1022. The floor is wood, laid down for handball and futsal, and it has seen both. The capacity is 950. The hall is named for the local chemical plant, Chemické závody Lovosice.

HK FCC Město Lovosice call this place home. They have won silver twice and bronze three times in the Chance Extraliga, and they have lifted the Czech Cup on three occasions.

Today the hall is managed by Technické služby města Lovosice, and the website lists it among the town’s facilities. It hosts school finals and hobby horsing competitions, keeping the space busy outside the professional seasons. The building has no history of being renamed; it has always been Sportovní hala Chemik. It is a roof and a floor and a wall, holding the sound of a ball bouncing against wood, day after day, in the same way it did when the first brick was laid.