According to the government plan, the new Český Krumlov turntable will cost 1.5 billion

České Budějovice - The National Investment Plan (NIP) for the years 2020 to 2050 considers that a new rotating auditorium in Český Krumlov will be part of a new theater wing, connected to the castle garden. The estimated costs are 1.5 billion CZK. The same amount is expected for a new theater in České Budějovice. This is indicated by a material published by the government.

The NIP for 2020 to 2050 plans investments of 277 billion CZK for the South Bohemia region. Of this, up to 160 billion is earmarked for the construction of a new block of the Temelín nuclear power plant, while 84 billion CZK is allocated for transportation infrastructure such as the D3 motorway, railway modernization, or bypass constructions. The NIP includes nearly 20,000 projects in the Czech Republic totaling eight trillion CZK. However, the plan does not specify how much, when, and from which sources the funding for the projects will be obtained.

"The new theater wing will contain a rotating auditorium with a capacity of 1,100 seats, technical and audience facilities corresponding to the needs of the summer theater stage," states the NIP regarding the revolving auditorium. According to the plan, construction should begin in 2023.

The current revolving auditorium in the castle garden is expected to remain until 2023. This was stated to ČTK by Juraj Thoma, the Deputy Mayor of České Budějovice. Last year, Lukáš Průdek, the director of the South Bohemian Theater, stated several times that he preferred the option where the auditorium would be relocated to the theater wing in the former horticulture area. The castle garden would expand into this currently unused space; this option was also favored by the Czech Chamber of Architects. Heritage conservationists and UNESCO have long objected to the auditorium in the garden.

"For me, it is good news that the revolving auditorium is mentioned there (in the NIP). The state is expressing that it wants to address it. It is important that the state wants to help with the solution for the revolving auditorium," Průdek told ČTK today. He added that a new working group has also been established by Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD).

According to the NIP, a new theater with a concert hall in České Budějovice is expected to begin construction in 2023. The South Bohemian Theater and the South Bohemian Philharmonic would perform there, with an investment of 1.5 billion CZK. The city plans to build the new building in Mariánské náměstí. On Monday, the city council acknowledged a proposal for a change in the zoning plan in the locations of U Požární zbrojnice and Za Poliklinikou.

"This change will definitively assign the area in Mariánské náměstí to the new theater. It is another step towards the citizens finally getting a new cultural facility - a theater and a philharmonic," Thoma told ČTK.

The group preparing the documentation for the new building completed a study in November. This will lead to the announcement of an architectural competition, which the city hall could declare in 2021. "The costs for the competition are estimated at eight to ten million CZK," Thoma stated.

The study includes two options: either moving all theater ensembles to the new building or a variant where the drama would remain in the old building.

The Krumlov revolving auditorium brings the South Bohemian Theater four-fifths of its revenue, which amounts to 54 million CZK annually. This year, 58,863 spectators attended 96 performances at the rotating auditorium, with ticket sales increasing by 15 percent compared to last season to 43.3 million CZK. Since 1958, the revolving auditorium has been visited by 2.4 million spectators.