Jihlava has secured a loan of 600 million crowns due to the planned construction of an arena

Jihlava – Jihlava has negotiated a loan of 600 million crowns for the planned construction of a multipurpose arena. The city council approved the signing of the contract for its acceptance today. The city hall expects to receive a subsidy from the region and the state for the arena, which is estimated to cost around 1.3 billion crowns. According to Mayor Karolína Koubová (Fórum Jihlava), the crucial factor for the next steps will be what price offers construction companies submit to the city. According to the public procurement bulletin, the deadline for submitting bids ends on May 4.

The acceptance of the loan was approved by the councilors with 34 votes, with no one against it. Four councilors abstained from voting.

The chairman of the financial committee of the council, Jiří Pokorný (ANO), stated that regardless of whether the arena is built or not, it is currently advantageous for the city to have such an open credit framework. According to him, it is also important that the loan does not need to be drawn down.

Some councilors pointed out the rising costs of materials and energy, also in connection with the war in Ukraine. Radek Popelka from the opposition movement ANO noted that structural steel has become significantly more expensive. "Last month, one kilogram of this steel was priced at 30 crowns; today the price is 80 crowns. So the increase is really enormous, and in addition, the steel is simply not available," he said.

The mayor stated that preparing for the construction of the arena has required a lot of work and money over the last four years. According to her, there is no need to repeat how the city has negotiated financing for this project. "I agree that the decision-making will not be easy at all. But it's a very fast-moving train, and it will be up to us, once the envelopes are opened, to decide whether it is feasible or not," she said.

The tender process for the construction of the arena at the site of the old Horácké ice rink was initiated by Jihlava in February of this year. Deputy Mayor Petr Ryška (ODS) told journalists earlier this month that the city still expects to receive 300 million crowns from the state and half a billion crowns from the Vysočina Region for the arena.