New Prague "POPS"
(Praha Outdoor Performance Stage)
It's Time
Shown above are preliminary design sketches of what the POPS facility might look like.
The POPS committee is working with an architect and a structural engineer to finalize the design and make sure it can be built within our budget.
(Click in the middle of the image above to see the image slightly larger.)
Spring 2026 update
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Work continues to finish the foundation work this spring. Excavation was completed in the fall, followed by the installation of the foundation. This included helical piers and a grade beam because of the poor soils at the site.
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Construction of the above-ground structure will likely begin in May. If work continues at a “normal” pace, a possibility exists that the building will be completed around Labor Day. NO PROMISES, but if work proceeds at a reasonable pace, this is a likely possibility.
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The summer concert series for this year will again be at Memorial Park. There will be NO summer concerts at POPS in 2026. The summer concert series will be at POPS starting in 2027, if all goes according to plan.
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A tremendous shout-out to Eddie and his team at Shimota Project Management. His time (donated to the project as his contribution) has gone way above and beyond anything any of us had expected.
Cities small and large throughout Minnesota encourage and entertain arts lovers throughout the year at outdoor venues to promote those interested in performing for the public. New Prague, a vibrant city of 8,100 people, has no outdoor performance facility. “It’s Time” is the catchphrase/motto for a community-wide effort to make this type of facility a reality in New Prague.
Why are we undertaking this effort?
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To complete a long-standing need of New Prague to provide this type of venue for community use. Creating outdoor arts events in New Prague with a tent/canopy is not a long-term solution.
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To collaborate with the city, school, community organizations, other community leaders and arts’ groups to build a venue the community can be proud of; and to show the importance of meeting the needs of the community together.
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To provide a venue for family entertainment throughout the year.
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To provide opportunities for people young and old to showcase their talents.
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To create a facility that is a showcase for the southwest metro area that shines a positive light on the city of New Prague.
The New Prague Area Arts Council (NPAAC) is the lead non-profit arts organization that began this undertaking as an important city project to build the Praha Outdoor Performance Stage (POPS) for the community through a private funding effort. It is doing this through an ad hoc POPS Committee of community, city, school, arts groups and other leaders who are dedicated to seeing this project come to fruition in the next three years for the city.
In April of 2023, the activities of the POPS effort transferred its day-to-day efforts to the new Forward New Prague Foundation (FNPF), a 501c3, tax-exempt organization created to help non-profit groups with these types of projects. The NPAAC will remain actively involved in the project.
The POPS committee contracted with Bolton and Menk in 2023 to evaluate the three potential sites and score each site. In their report they scored the Memorial Park site the highest.
The POPS facilities committee and full leadership team reviewed and approved the report and sent it on to the Park Board.
The Park Board reviewed the information and sent a recommendation on to the City Council. That recommendation was to put the POPS facility in the City Center site.
At its January 16, 2024, meeting, the New Prague City Council selected the City Center as the location for the Praha Outdoor Performance Stage (POPS).
Preferred Site
Click on the photo to see more information about the preferred site.
