Zlín received hundreds of millions from European funds for the Congress Center

Zlín - The Zlín city hall has received over 331 million crowns from European funds for the construction of the Congress Center. The spokesperson for the regional council, Renata Škrobálková, informed ČTK today. The modern building, designed by a team led by architect Eva Jiřičná, was started by the city hall in 2006. The grand opening is scheduled for this autumn. The total construction costs will exceed 600 million crowns.
    "According to my information, this is the highest allocation granted so far from the Regional Operational Program for Central Moravia," said Škrobálková. She also pointed out that the construction of the Congress Center was marked by the city hall as the most important project in the integrated city development plan, which will ensure the city's development in the future, especially in the field of tourism.
    The Congress Center is being built on the site where schools stood during the time of T. G. Masaryk. Together with the University Center, which Tomas Bata University completed in 2008, it will form a cohesive complex of modern buildings referencing the period of the First Republic. The buildings of that time were slender, angular, and built in the shape of the letter ypsilon. However, the use of the Congress and University centers demanded "thicker" buildings, which have an oval shape.
    The shell of the multifunctional building of the Congress Center is approximately 80 percent complete, and the rough installations are 85 percent finished. Once completed, it will house the Zlín Philharmonic Bohuslav Martinů, which currently resides in unsuitable spaces of the House of Arts, especially difficult to access for elderly or disabled people. The large hall with modern facilities will have up to 850 seats. It is expected to host conferences, balls, concerts, and theatrical performances.