K. Vary do not want to pay for the lottery for the construction of the hall, they have appealed

Karlovy Vary - Karlovy Vary do not want to pay a fine of half a million crowns that the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) imposed on them for a disputed lottery in a tender for a billion-crown contract for the construction of a sports hall. The city appealed against the antimonopoly office's decision on Tuesday. This was reported today by Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) in its regional supplement.
    The city spokesperson Jakub Kaválek would not specify what exactly the city lawyers wrote in the appeal against the fine. "It is a matter for the participants in the administrative proceedings. Generally, we can say that we do not agree with the half-million fine. We believe that the penalty was not imposed legitimately," the spokesperson told MfD. The ÚOHS has 30 days to decide on the municipality's objections. The city also plans to possibly use another remedy and file a lawsuit in the administrative court.
    The organizer of the competition for the construction of the hall selected two firms from a closed draw over several dozen seconds, while other tickets were drawn significantly faster. According to the antimonopoly office, this was a mistake. The fine is one of the highest ever imposed by the antimonopoly office on cities and municipalities. The highest previous penalty of three million crowns was imposed on Zlín for long-term and deliberate circumvention of the law in many contracts.
    Even if Karlovy Vary had to pay the fine, it would not affect the further construction of the hall. It is scheduled to be completed in two years. "In February 2009, our contractor is supposed to hand over the construction site to us and the approval process will begin. We expect the first major event to coincide with the start of the spa season in that same year," said Milan Bártl, the head of the KV Aréna company.