“This year, the new, dark horse of the Colombian biathlon team is Carlos Santos,” laughs Petr Dostál. The life-size figure in front of the paradise of fans of all sports in Nové Město na Moravá is his “child”. A stop on the way to the racetrack has become as popular in the world of sports tourists as a selfie with UNESCO monuments.
“My grandparents had a shop here before the communists took it away,” says Ivana Dostálová. She confirmed her genetic make-up when, as a young adult, she continued the family tradition. She was able to successfully restore the well-known New Town stationery and toy store 31 years ago.
The risk for the fans paid off
“When the first biathlon world championship was here in 2013, a lot of tourists came here and wanted biathlon stuff. We only had a few flags and little things,” she recalled of the big domestic premiere of the young Olympic sport. The talented businesswoman responded promptly and was able to meet customers already during the then championship.
Photo: Jana Pechová, Law, News
The owners of the fan shop in the section of the store dedicated to sports. They know for sure which sports holiday is next.
Biathlon focuses the eyes of the sports world on Vysočina. It is life-changing for locals
“We had the logo You can get everything with us. So we stuck with it and took a risk,” the co-owner of the store returned to the decision that added another permanent specialty to the fragrant shop. And actually even world-renowned – the lively bustle around the local shop during major sporting events in the Vysočina Arena has since then regularly attracted cameras and cameras from all over the world.
“The whole family helps us on the weekends. My wife’s mother describes the goods, my mother bakes cakes, my father puts on his cap, takes his trumpet and goes out to entertain the fans,” describes Mr. Petr. Both studying children are also involved. It is necessary, hundreds of people head here every day on the days of the watched races.
Official opening hours do not apply here during major events. “It’s often difficult, we stand here from seven in the morning and we’re open until midnight, depending on how many people from the Vysočina Aréna flock,” adds Ivana, adding with a laugh that it’s always fun with the wrapped fans. “Last year, during the World Cup, a Slovak came here who had no idea what country he was in,” added the friendly businesswoman.
The mascot has also become a reliable willow tree
Eleven years ago, however, Biatlon did not only take care of the constant expansion of the range of the local store to a form that you cannot find anywhere else in the country.
The fan, sitting on the biathlon bench in front of the store, on which the backsides of the most successful domestic champions have rested, is a favorite companion as if a priori. Around the time of the races, people heading this way to the Vysočina Arena like to take pictures with him, but they are not idle even at night. He will not refuse any companion.
“People are not destroying it as we first feared. On the contrary. When our athletes succeed, Fanouš has medals around his neck by morning. The hockey championship will come, he will get a hockey stick. But even passers-by, intoxicated by alcohol, sit on the bench next to him, many times they snuggle up to him and chat with him. Sometimes I hear it when I open the window at night. What must he have absorbed already,” laughed the couple, themselves big fans of cross-country skiing and cycling.
But cheering in the arena takes turns, someone always has to stay in the store. They can enjoy the bike or skis together only after it has been turned off and locked in the shop.
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2024-02-04 13:02:16
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