Brno will add 500 places in the Rondo hall for 10 million crowns

Brno - The Rondo hockey hall in Brno will have nearly 500 additional seats this year. The city will expand the capacity from the current 7,200 seats to 7,691 for approximately 10 million, said Antonín Crha (KDU-ČSL), chairman of the board of the municipal company Starez-sport, which manages the sports facilities, to reporters today.
    The most advantageous bid in the tender was submitted by a consortium of companies HT Steel and Metrostav, which will carry out the work for 9.3 million crowns excluding VAT. "In the coming days, we will sign the contract, and the work should be able to start. We will definitely manage to complete it in May. The completion period will be around 70 days," Crha stated.
    According to him, the expansion should be finished in time for the new seat to be available for the 2015/2016 hockey season. "The stands will be created in three corners of the hall. We are increasing the number because hockey entertains Brno residents, and there is interest in it," Crha said.
    In addition, this year the company will install cold and heat meters for 600,000 crowns. "Currently, there are no accurate meters, even though the machine room supplies cooling to two halls. From the new season, we will accurately determine how much cooling the machine room produces for the Rondo hall and how much for the adjacent figure skating hall," Crha explained.
    After the 2016/2017 season, he would like to achieve a complete reconstruction of the machine room. "It is outdated, operating at 40 percent efficiency and producing cooling at a high cost. Daily cooling for both halls costs 30,000 crowns, which amounts to over ten million each year," said Crha. After reconstruction, he estimates a potential savings of up to one-third. "The city and clubs would save millions, which sports organizations can invest in youth, for example," Crha added.