No one in Brno has expressed interest in operating the planned multifunctional hall

Brno – Brno did not find any interested parties in the concession process that would like to operate the planned multifunctional hall at the exhibition grounds. This was stated to journalists today by councilor Petr Kratochvíl (ODS). According to him, the council will discuss further steps next week. One possibility is that a city company could operate the hall. Kratochvíl did not rule it out but did not want to comment further without council discussion. The hall, costing 4.4 billion crowns, is expected to have a capacity of up to 13,000 spectators. It should serve for sports, cultural, and social events.

The concession process ended today at 10:00 AM. "No one applied for it," Kratochvíl stated. Therefore, he will propose several alternatives to the council on how the city could address the situation. He did not provide further details but did not rule out that the hall could be operated by one of the city companies. For example, Starez Sport is responsible for sports facilities, but the hall will also be in the premises of the city company Veletrhy Brno, which has experience in organizing large events. Another city company, Arena Brno, was established for the construction of the hall, where Kratochvíl serves as the chairman of the board.

In October, Brno selected Hochtief for the construction of the hall. Due to the lack of private interest in operation, Kratochvíl already has prepared options that he will present to the council. Once the council chooses one of the options, the city can further address the approval of public support from the European Union, the so-called notification process.

According to Kratochvíl, the city could possibly have all the documentation by the end of the year to decide whether to build the hall. Additionally, related constructions, such as the public transport loop or parking spaces, which are necessary for the future hall, will continue.

Brno has been promised a grant for the construction of the hall from the National Sports Agency, which supports projects up to a maximum of 300 million crowns. The Mayor of Brno, Markéta Vaňková (ODS), has previously discussed further support with government representatives. Although these negotiations were slowed down by the energy crisis, she intends to continue them. Support has also been promised by the region. Brno also has approved options for borrowing loans from Komerční banka in the amount of 3 billion crowns and from Česká spořitelna in the amount of 1.5 billion crowns. In total, it can thus draw 4.5 billion from the two banks.

The multifunctional hall could provide a base for the hockey team Kometa Brno, which plays in the Rondo hall. The capacity of around 7,700 is not sufficient for them. There is also interest from the organization Oktagon MMA, which organizes cage fighting matches, to hold tournaments in the hall.