Construction of a multifunctional hall worth nearly six billion has begun at the Brno exhibition center

Brno - The construction of the multifunctional Arena Brno, costing nearly six billion crowns, started today at the Brno Exhibition Centre. The arena is the largest strategic project of the city, designed to accommodate 13,000 spectators, primarily for the hockey team Kometa, but also for various events. The Mayor of Brno, Markéta Vaňková (ODS), declared today as the most significant day of her political career. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) praised the large ambitions of Brno on site. According to data from sports facility websites, Arena Brno will be the third-largest multifunctional arena in the Czech Republic by capacity. Opposition is against the construction of the arena, mainly due to the loan.

Arena Brno is expected to be the third-largest multifunctional arena in the Czech Republic, with a capacity of 13,000 spectators, just behind the Fortuna Sports Hall at the exhibition center in Prague's Holešovice, which has a capacity of 13,238 spectators. The O2 arena in Prague, which can accommodate up to 20,000 people, ranks first. The Ostravar Arena in Ostrava and the Enteria Arena in Pardubice also have capacities over ten thousand visitors.

"I am a proud citizen of Brno, and I appreciate that it has always been able to think like a major city. We should be glad that the city and the mayor are embarking on big and bold projects. There is a lot happening in Brno that is needed. These are big goals that improve quality of life. Something truly great is also being created right here," said the Prime Minister. He believes that the arena will significantly expand Brno's possibilities and attract visitors.

The Mayor reminded that what had been discussed in Brno for many years took a definite shape in February 2019. At that time, the decision was made to build a modern multifunctional arena in the western part of the exhibition grounds near Pavilion Z. "The location near the city center was decisive, the possibility of uncomplicated resolution of ownership relations to the land, and the transport accessibility, which we are further enhancing, was crucial," Vaňková said today. The Directorate of Roads and Highways, along with the city, is expanding the large city ring road in the Bauerova section, while the transport company is continuing the construction of a return tram loop at the Lipová junction.

Together with Brno, three city companies are the investors: Arena Brno, Brněnské komunikace, and Teplárny Brno. The arena will be owned by Arena Brno, which will also operate it for several initial years. The city's original intention was for a private entity to operate the arena under a lease agreement and pay an agreed annual amount to the city. However, no one came forward. Therefore, the city decided that operation would be handled by a new city company. Employees with experience in similar operations are still being sought.

Brněnské komunikace will become the owner and operator of seven outdoor areas. "We want the use of 1,179 parking spaces to be maximally efficient, so we will set several regimes that will respond to the program directly in the arena, to the schedule of trade fair events, or to seasonal operations at the Riviéra swimming pool, and in the future at the sports and recreation area near Anthropos. The remaining capacity will serve for P+R parking," stated Luděk Borový, the general director of Brněnské komunikace and project manager of the arena.

Teplárny Brno will build a distribution system for supplying electrical energy, ensure combined production of electricity, heat, and cold for the arena, and will build charging stations for electric vehicles in the adjacent parking areas.

The contractor is Hochtief CZ, which will construct the arena for 4.4 billion crowns. Chairman of the board Tomáš Koranda believes that the construction will not exceed its budget. "Of course, there can be changes in every construction project, but we do not expect significant changes that would impact the price. I rely on experiences and the fact that the construction is relatively well prepared in terms of design. This is a very prestigious matter for us. It is our second-largest project right after the new Line D of the Prague metro," he said. It is still unclear what the internal equipment of the arena will look like. The city is just starting to address this. However, it will not affect the construction work, according to him.

The arena will host the hockey players of Kometa, but it is also planned to be used for basketball, volleyball, tennis, futsal, or figure skating. "This has always been my dream. For me, today feels like we have won our first championship," said Libor Zábranský, the owner of the Brno team and former hockey defender, to the Kometa website after the laying of the foundation stone. As an owner and coach, he has won two extraleague titles with Kometa. "Now something has begun that the people of Brno, all of South Moravia, and its surroundings will appreciate over time," he added.

Brno expects the total costs for the arena to be 5.76 billion crowns, which includes a billion-crown reserve. The construction has been supported by 300 million crowns from the National Sports Agency, 200 million from the South Moravian Region, and a loan of 1.95 billion crowns from Česká spořitelna. The city will cover the remaining costs from its budget. The loan from the savings bank will be repaid by the city by 2050. The interest is 4.87 percent, so the city will overpay the borrowed amount by 1.7 billion crowns. The work is planned to take 33 months, which is more than two and a half years.

The opposition is against the construction of the arena. "Today is a black day for Brno. Not only is the construction sucking and already sucking money from the city budget, which is needed for many more important and strategic projects, but after its completion, it will generate further losses. The city is taking a loan for its construction, which will consume 1.7 billion just in interest! Is this responsible management at a time when we are facing a climate crisis, a housing crisis, and other challenges? This is irresponsible, incredibly stupid in the style of: After us, the flood," wrote Jasna Flamiková (Green Party) on her Facebook today.

The city's leadership stands by the fact that the arena will be profitable. "I do not want to comment more specifically on how much of the city's budget will go towards operating the arena for now. However, we have an economic analysis that shows that the arena will pay off for the city. It is important that we have secured funding for the construction and a vision and analysis of how the operation should look in the future. We will see more closely how we will open the arena. We are also accounting for expenses in the medium-term outlook, so no other planned investment projects will have to be postponed," Vaňková said. She added that the city is currently in talks with potential operators of the arena but did not want to reveal who is in the running.

According to Fiala, it is also good that the arena is being built despite the billion-crown costs. "This is a wise decision. The people of Brno and the entire wider area have been waiting for such an arena. The project has been prepared for a very long time and responsibly, and the financing is well secured. I hope and believe that no additional money will need to be spent on the arena," he said.