The concert hall will be drawn into the map of Brno by designers this year

Brno - The planned construction of a concert hall for Brno, which has been called for by Brno Philharmonic for about 100 years, has taken a step forward. This week, the city council approved the text of the contract with the architectural office that will prepare the territorial documentation. The contract was awarded to the architectural group M1, which has already worked on the design of the Janáček Cultural Center. Years ago, they won an international architectural competition, said the mayor's deputy Daniel Rychnovský (KDU-ČSL) to reporters today.
    The documentation will cost three to four million crowns. It is expected to be completed this year. The territorial documentation is essential for the future construction. Without a territorial decision, which can be requested with it, European subsidies cannot be obtained, said Rychnovský.
    Financing is currently the weakest link in the plan. Building the concert hall with facilities is estimated to cost 1.2 billion crowns, a third of which will go towards the construction of underground garages that a private investor should pay for. However, the city must secure the remaining funds. Its budget has long accounted for 200 million crowns, and the same amount could be provided by the region, according to Brno officials. However, additional funds are still needed.
    The construction of the Janáček Cultural Center has been discussed in Brno for years. Due to financial demands, the city leadership has postponed the plan in the past. Rychnovský, who has been in office for a year, considers the construction one of the main tasks. "So that we can listen to, for example, the Glagolitic Mass in the new concert hall," he said today.
    The city council wants to build the Janáček Cultural Center in the center of Brno next to the Besední dům. There is currently a parking lot on the site. The new venue is to become the home for the Brno Philharmonic and the opera and ballet of the National Theater in Brno. Currently, the orchestra has no suitable concert space. "We actually have no idea how our philharmonic sounds; we would have to go to some quality hall and listen to it there," noted earlier Alena Štěpánková Veselá, chairwoman of the Brno Society of Friends of Music.