Ostrava has secured financing for the construction of a new concert hall

Ostrava - The city of Ostrava has secured funding for the construction of a new concert hall. The city councilors today decided to accept a loan of two billion crowns from the European Investment Bank (EIB). This was announced to reporters by Deputy Mayor Lucie Baránková Vilamová (ANO).

"This is the last piece of the puzzle for financing the entire concert hall," said Vilamová. The construction of the new concert hall, combined with the reconstruction of the Ostrava City Cultural Centre, is to last until 2027, and preparatory work is already underway in the area. The construction costs are approximately 2.8 billion crowns, and the entire project is estimated to cost around four billion crowns.

"The concert hall will be financed from multiple sources. The main source is a loan of two billion, along with a non-repayable financial grant from the European Commission of half a billion crowns, which is specifically allocated for the concert hall. We also have a commitment of 300 million crowns from the Moravian-Silesian Region and 600 million crowns from the state, from the Ministry of Culture. From our own sources, we have saved more than 500 million crowns over the last few years," Vilamová stated.

The city intends to draw the loan from the EIB gradually, in up to ten tranches. The city has agreed with the EIB that the loan can be drawn until 2028, one year after the planned completion of construction. This arrangement was set to prepare for potential problems during construction.

"It is up to us how we manage this within the time frame during which the concert hall will be built. We certainly know that we will not be using it this year, in order to wait for the reduction in interest rates. We want to draw it next year, when the interest rates drop to a level that will be acceptable for us. This year, we can do without the loan because we have our own resources," Vilamová pointed out.

The city will repay the EIB loan over ten years. If it starts drawing the loan next year, it should be paid off by 2035. "We wanted the city's indebtedness to be at a level that the city can manage without problems," the deputy mayor added.

In 28. října Street, where the hall will be located, preparatory work continues, and excavation work for the construction pit should also begin, with digging planned for the autumn. This will be followed by work on the foundation of the concert hall.

The design of the Ostrava concert hall was revealed in July 2019 when the winners of the largest architectural competition in the modern history of the city were announced. The authors of the winning proposal are Steven Holl Architects from New York and Architecture Acts from Prague. The American magazine Architizer ranked the project among the ten most anticipated buildings in the world in 2021. The new complex will serve as a venue for music, culture, production, and education, and will also be the home of the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava.

The concert hall is set to have 1,300 seats. The project also includes a theater hall with a capacity of 490 seats, a chamber multifunctional hall with 515 seats, a lecture multifunctional hall with 120 seats, and an education center with 200 seats. The complex is also expected to include a recording studio, restaurant, café, and other spaces. The city has attempted to construct a new hall six times in the past, first in the 1860s and most recently in 1969.