The county representatives approved the agreement for the construction of the concert hall in Brno

Brno - The representatives of the South Moravian Region today approved a memorandum between the region, the city of Brno, and the government regarding the construction of the Janáček Cultural Center. A concert hall with a capacity of 1250 seats is to be built in Brno by 2020 at a cost of 1.3 billion crowns. The memorandum includes a financial contribution from the government of 600 million, the city of 562 million, and the region of 100 million crowns. The memorandum was already approved by the Brno city council on Monday, and it is set to be approved by the government in early October.

According to the governor Michal Hašek (ČSSD), the approval of the memorandum shows that the city and the region can come to an agreement. "We have fulfilled our part of the agreement, and the council collectively supported the region's participation in the construction of the Janáček Cultural Center. We consider the model of cooperation between the state, the region, and the city as very useful and inspiring not only for the concert hall or for hosting the Grand Prix Brno together but also for significant sports infrastructure in the future," Hašek told ČTK. He reminded that this year, for the first time, the Grand Prix motorcycle race was held under the auspices of a company founded by the region and the city. A similar collaboration could function, for example, for the proposed football stadium in Brno.

The Mayor of Brno Petr Vokřál (ANO) previously stated that construction of the concert hall could begin in 2018 and be completed by 2020. Currently, underground garages are being built at the corner of Besední and Veselá streets, which are the initial phase of the Janáček Cultural Center.

There has been much discussion about the concert hall in Brno, but there has never been funding for it. According to Vokřál, the joint memorandum is an important step because it should secure financing for the construction. The Brno Philharmonic will be based in the hall, which currently lacks appropriate spaces for rehearsing and performing. Its director, Marie Kučerová, considers the approval of the memorandum an important step toward the construction of the hall. "In the past, it was not signed by the government, but now it seems for the first time that all three parties will sign it," Kučerová stated.

The Janáček Cultural Center will be the first building of its kind in the Czech Republic in several decades. Since November 1989, only a few projects of similar scale have been developed in the country, none of which were primarily intended for music. For example, in September two years ago, the New Theater was opened in Plzeň, a building with a striking façade that cost approximately one billion crowns. In September 2009, a new headquarters for the National Technical Library was opened in Prague's Dejvice, a construction praised by architectural experts that cost 2.25 billion crowns.