The Project

The Praha Outdoor Performance Stage (POPS) project.

April 2026

The Praha Outdoor Performance Stage (POPS) building project began in the late fall of 2022 when Den Gardner, as chair of the New Prague Area Arts Council, proposed that this group take the lead in creating a committee to build an outdoor performance venue for New Prague.

An informal committee was formed of community leaders to move the project forward. The group chose “It’s Time!” as its theme. The theme was selected because the committee felt it was “time” for a community the size of New Prague (8,200+ population) to have an outdoor performance venue. Several other smaller communities around New Prague had such a facility.

Why was this project undertaken?

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • To provide a venue for family entertainment throughout the year.
  • To provide opportunities for people young and old to showcase their talents.
  • To create a facility that is a showcase for the southwest metro area that shines a positive light on the city of New Prague.

One comment through this process always kept the committee and its supporters motivated to get the job done of raising $1 million. New Prague has always been strong in the sports field. And that’s great. It was felt that the arts could use a boost in the community. One interested observer noted in the beginning: “Good luck to all of you. But I think there will be 20 more athletic fields built in this community before you can raise $1 million for an arts facility.” That was all the motivation the committee needed to meet its goal!

Subsequent to the original forming of the group to get the building project off the ground, an independent non-profit organization was needed to handle the donations and manage the funding process.

This was done in April of 2023. Because the arts council was an informal organization fiscally managed through the New Prague Independent School District 721, the project was ultimately moved to the Forward New Prague Foundation (FNPF). This group is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit group designed to provide a place for informal groups creating projects for the betterment of the community in New Prague to place and manage donations. Gardner, along with community leaders Bruce Wolf, Larry Pint and Elizabeth Neiderhiser, became the board of the FNPF. This board handles the POPS project funding and other community projects funding efforts. The dog park project and community mascot effort are two other examples.

Through a somewhat continuing cast of changing members over the past three years, ultimately the informal group known at the POPS Advisory Committee of the FNPF was created and has been responsible for the development of the building project in New Prague. The current members of this POPS Advisory Committee are (in alphabetical order):

  • Shannon Allen
  • Andy Beckius
  • Shannon Brusseau
  • Tony Buthe
  • Dr. Jon Colling
  • Gina Fadden
  • Steve Frost
  • Den Gardner (chair)
  • Sandy Gardner (as financial/accounting person)
  • Larry Pint
  • Eddie Shimota
  • Brooke Sticha
  • Tom Vanasek
  • Bruce Wolf

All of these community leaders have been part of the process from nearly the beginning of the effort. The committee, through the FNPF, is wonderfully assisted on a pro bono basis by Eric Brever (attorney) and Matt Goldade (CPA/accounting).

The committee has been responsible for raising the $1 million to build POPS, design the building and select a general contractor to build it. The building project itself was designed by Bruce Caulfield of Caulfield Architectural Design. The structural engineer was Alan Kyro of Struct All Engineering. The general contractor is Shimota Project Management LLC.

Here are some architect’s drawings of what the facility will look like:

The construction began in the fall of 2025, and the expected completion is the fall of 2026. The grand opening is scheduled for the spring of 2027.

Some photos from the work done in the fall of 2025:

Following are some key historical moments of the POPS building project:

  • Fundraising begins in late 2022/early 2023. Approximately $500,000 is raised the first year.
  • The informal committee created to manage the POPS project becomes under the umbrella of the Forward New Prague Foundation in April of 2023.
  • An independent consulting firm is hired to review three locations for POPS – Memorial Park, City Center (northwest area of downtown, behind the bowling alley) and across the street from New Prague High (Sliding Hill Skate Park). The city donated the land for the site building project.
  • Two POPS Galas are held in 2023 and 2024 to recognize donors and other enthusiasts of the project. Both galas include a silent auction. In 2023, Palmer and Susan Welcome of Palmer Welcome Auto donate a late-model vehicle for the event. Nearly $15,000 is raised from a raffle for the car.
  • In January of 2024, the New Prague City Council chose City Center as the location for the POPS building.
  • Fundraising continues in 2024 and 2025, culminating with reaching the $1 million goal in mid-2025.
  • The FNPF foundation enters into a contract with the City of New Prague through a donation agreement with the land at City Center where the POPS building will be constructed. Through the agreement, the land is donated to the FNPF to construct the building and, upon completion, it will be turned over to the city for ownership.
  • Groundbreaking for POPS is in July of 2025 at the City Center site.
  • Throughout 2025, there were many questions about the composition of the soils at the City Center site. Ultimately, the soils were deemed by an independent consulting firm to be insufficient to build a “normal” foundation for the POPS building. Thus, a plan was created to support the foundation through use of 35+ helical piers. This added well in excess of $125,000 to the cost of the project. Because of this significant cost increase, the City Council, through a recommendation by the New Prague Park Board, allocated up to $100,000 to alleviate some of the additional costs to the FNPF for the foundation costs.
  • It was the goal of the FNPF to hire a local firm to be the general contractor for the project. The accepted bid came from Shimota Project Management LLC (as noted earlier).
  • Excavation and construction of the foundation begin in October/November of 2025.
  • Efforts continue in 2026, with construction resuming in April.
  • Fundraising continues as a new effort to raise $50,000 for a state-of-the- art video/audio system begins. This will allow for family movies (day or night), theatrical productions and other events. As of April 1, $20,000 has been raised for this effort.

The FNPF and the POPS Advisory Committee extends its thanks to the hundreds of arts enthusiasts who have donated time, talent and/or treasure to the project. If you are additional questions about the project, please contact Den Gardner at: dengardner@gandgcomm.com. Cell – 612/325-3981.