Trzaskowski announced the plan at a news conference, saying the redevelopment is part of a broader effort to reshape downtown Warsaw.
"It is a historic place that remembers the years of czarist rule, the tragedy of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising and the historic victory Polish boxers won over the Soviets in 1953," he said.
Under the plan, Gwardia Hall will be modernised and the adjacent square will be transformed into a green public space, with underground parking beneath it.
A boxing academy will continue to operate inside Gwardia Hall, maintaining the site's link to Poland’s storied boxing past. Photo: Adaś17, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commonss
City officials are also in talks with street traders from the surrounding market to help preserve the area's traditional character.
A boxing academy will continue to operate inside Gwardia Hall, maintaining the site's link to Poland’s storied boxing past.
The venue hosted the 1953 European Championships, where Polish fighters under the legendary coach Feliks "Papa" Stamm won multiple medals.
Feliks Stamm and boxer Jerzy Kulej, a two-time Olympic light-welterweight champion. Photo: PAP/Zbigniew Matuszewski
Trzaskowski said the redevelopment will be carried out as a public-private partnership, with City Hall retaining control over the final design.
The revamped Gwardia Hall is expected to open in early 2027, with the green space and underground parking scheduled for completion in 2029.
The building will also feature a remembrance room honouring Stamm and his boxers.
The Polish boxing team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics: coach Feliks Stamm, Artur Olech, Piotr Gutman, Józef Grudzień, Jerzy Kulej, Marian Kasprzyk, Józef Grzesiak, Tadeusz Walasek and Zbigniew Pietrzykowski. Three of them—Grudzień, Kulej and Kasprzyk—would later become Olympic champions. Photo: PAP/CAF/Janusz Uklejewski
A statue of the celebrated coach, known as the father of the "Polish way of boxing," stands in nearby Mirowski Park.
A statue of iconic Polish boxing coach Feliks 'Papa' Stamm in Warsaw's Mirowski Park. Photo: Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 PL <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/pl/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP