Brno does not sue the sports agency for not awarding a grant for the athletic hall

Brno – Brno will not sue the National Sports Agency for the refusal to grant a subsidy for the construction of an athletic hall at the university campus. According to the mayor, even in the case of a lawsuit, the court would not decide whether Brno is entitled to the subsidy or not. Furthermore, the mayor believes that Brno would probably not receive the subsidy anyway. The hall, with 2200 spectator seats, was estimated to cost around one billion and was to be built opposite the Faculty of Sports Studies at Masaryk University. The city requested a subsidy of 300 million Czech korunas from the agency.

The council adopted a resolution stating that it does not agree with filing an administrative lawsuit. The decision was reported by Czech Radio Brno. "Because this is a non-entitlement subsidy, the court would not deal with whether we are entitled to the subsidy or not. It would only address whether the applicant was discriminated against in any way," stated Mayor Vaňková.

If the city were successful in the lawsuit, according to her, it would only achieve the return of the matter to the agency for further proceedings. "Moreover, it is clear that we would probably not obtain the subsidy anyway. This is because the agency would first have to change its decision-making practice, where the conclusion of a contract with the contractor before applying for subsidy is assessed as not fulfilling the motivational effect and is deemed public support incompatible with the internal market of the European Union," Vaňková said.

The agency halted the proceedings for granting the subsidy and stated that the city had already signed a contract with the contractor. Therefore, discussions about a possible administrative lawsuit began within the coalition in Brno, but the city's leadership ultimately decided against it. Instead, it decided that after four years, the contract for the construction of the hall would be terminated. The hall was initially expected to cost 800 million; however, due to the increase in construction material prices, the company requested an increase of 200 million. Therefore, the councilors decided on the termination. According to Vaňková, however, the city does not want to abandon the project and will seek an extension of the already issued building permit.