Brno-Židenice wants to build a hall for athletes and ball sports for 300 million

Brno - The Brno-Židenice district intends to build a training hall that would serve athletes, floorball, and ball sports. The estimated costs are around 300 million crowns, Mayor Petr Kunc (Petr Kunc - Voice for Židenice) said today to ČTK. According to him, covered facilities are lacking for the nearly 5,000 athletes in Brno. The idea is a response to the fact that the planned city athletic hall for about one billion will not be built near the university campus. The mayor's assistant, René Černý (ANO), stated that the idea for the hall in Židenice would need to be discussed. Furthermore, the city is still looking for a location for a large athletic hall.

Kunc stated that the hall would be located on Bělohorské Street in the grounds of the football field. He hopes to obtain funding from the city, the region, and the state. If everything goes well, construction could begin in two years under optimistic circumstances, and the hall could be completed in four years. "It should have 200 to 300 seats for spectators for possible state competitions. It would also contain a 200-meter athletic track, and inside this track, there would be space for other athletic disciplines. Additionally, there would be a field for floorball and ball sports next to the track," Kunc described the plan.

According to him, the city hall initially only considered a hall for ball sports. "However, since the planned athletic hall near the campus will not be built, we combined it. There are almost 5,000 athletes in Brno, and the city has no covered hall for them," Kunc said, who has discussed the matter with the athletic association and representatives of the city hall.

Černý mentioned that he talked about the hall with Kunc. "It's a nice idea, but it still needs to be discussed," Černý said. He is also unsure whether it would be appropriate for the hall to serve both athletics and ball sports. "Moreover, even though there will not be a large athletic hall near the campus, we are still looking for a suitable site for its construction," Černý added. However, he views the hall in Židenice as a possible alternative.

The idea for the construction of a large athletic hall at the campus with 2,200 spectator seats originated during a coalition led by the ANO movement. In 2018, the city signed a contract for the construction worth 800 million. However, after the elections, the leadership changed, and a coalition led by ODS took over, which still leads Brno today. The city then interrupted the project several times and unsuccessfully sought funding from the National Sports Agency. Meanwhile, due to rising construction material prices, the costs of the construction increased to one billion. Therefore, the city decided to terminate the contract. They purchased the project documentation in case they would build the hall at some point. However, Masaryk University wants to use the site near the campus for other purposes.