On the 25th of September 2010, the start/finish field of the cross-country skiing polygon at Rogla was the venue of a foundation stone laying event. Among those participating at the ceremony was Slovenia’s Minister Responsible for Local Self-government and Regional Development, Dr Henrik Gjerkeš. Together with the Mayor of the Municipality of Zreče, Mr Boris Podvršnik, and the President of the Management Board of the Unior d.d. Company, Mr Gorazd Korošec, they laid the foundation stone of the new construction.
In its revision of the 2007 Development Strategy, the Unior Joint-Stock Company, or, more precisely, the Company’s Tourism Sector, foresaw, apart from a snowboarding polygon and free-ride skiing terrains, the construction of a cross-country skiing polygon at the Rogla Ski Resort. The cross-country polygon on the Rogla Plateau is intended for amateur cross-country skiers, as well as professional athletes, led by our champion, Ms Petra Majdič. The project’s most important target group are children and adolescents who come to Rogla to spend their winter school activities. And each winter sees over 3,500 such visitors.
According to the amended investment programme, the value of the entire investment into the Cross-Country Skiing Centre will be €7,115,959.00. The Municipality has been granted 46% of all costs, which amounts to €3,277,795.00; the providers of this financing are the Ministry of Education and Sport and the European Cohesion Fund. The remainder of the investment, including the entire ineligible VAT costs will be financed from the Municipality’s budget along with the project partner Unior d.d. The implementation of the project began in 2008 and is planned to finish in 2012.
The project consists of two phases. The concept of the first phase will serve multiple purposes: in summer, the start/finish field will be used as a lawn-covered football ground, while the nearby accumulation lake will be used to provide water to snow cannons covering both the start/finish field and the alpine skiing slopes. The over 2-km long tarmac roller ski trail will cater for summertime preparation and competition. The second phase of the project includes the construction of a multipurpose building with a net useable surface area of 3,482.85m2. Level -2 will contain the general and the swimming pool engine rooms. Located in the cellar will be the central area, which is a communications hub with its souvenir and sporting equipment stores, cross-country ski service shop and ski storage facilities. The extended wing will contain two dressing rooms for sports teams, ending with the sauna/wellness centre area, which will also enable access to the outside areas. The ground floor of the multipurpose building will consist of the guest entrance lobby, the reception hall, connected with a cocktail bar, a spacious lounge area, guest toilet facilities and a restaurant with its own kitchen. The first floor will contain FIS-related areas used for cross-country skiing racing events (organisation, first aid, timers, competition juries, VIP area, doping control for men and women, etc.).
In the near future, the Cross-Country Skiing Polygon at Rogla will host major sporting events at European and world levels.
