The new stadium at Lužánky must not have the planned height of 37 meters according to the conservationists

Brno – The new football stadium at Lužánky, which Zbrojovka Brno wants to build in place of the old stadium, cannot have the proposed height of 37 meters according to the cultural heritage department of the Ministry of Culture, said Brno councilor for sports Tomáš Aberl (TOP 09) today to ČTK. The height, which stems from the contract between the city and Zbrojovka, could disrupt protected views of the city center, known as veduta, he stated. According to Zbrojovka, however, this is not definitive. The city will have other possible heights of the stadium examined, according to the councilor.

"Zbrojovka included in the contract that it wants a height above ground of 37 meters. This is something defined in the contract; we needed to verify it. We found that this height is unacceptable for the Ministry of Culture," Aberl said. "If we were to conclude such a contract and they planned a stadium that would not meet the requirements, then the responsibility would lie with the city. It would not be possible to conclude such a contract," the councilor added.

The city examined heights of 28, 30, 35, 37, and 40 meters. Aberl stated that the ministry would allow a stadium height of 28 or 30 meters, but not 35 meters. Therefore, according to him, the city will have other heights examined as well, namely 31, 32, 33, and 34 meters.

Zbrojovka spokesman Tomáš Šusta referred ČTK to a statement from the club's general director Jan Mynář on platform X. "The councilor describes things in his statement as given. Meanwhile, this is the first statement from the Ministry of Culture based on preliminary sketches of the mass, which can be adjusted further and about which discussions can be held. There is no clear standard of what is too much and what is not – it is largely a subjective assessment based on sketches," Mynář stated.

The councilor hopes that the city could receive the ministry's opinions on the further examined heights by August 19, the same day that a revised expert assessment of the land prices at Lužánky should also be completed. The city commissioned this assessment because the city and club's expert reports reached different land prices. The price discrepancies could ultimately jeopardize the validity of the contract. According to a legal analysis commissioned by the city, there is a risk that the sale could be assessed as providing state aid in such a case.

Discussion about a new stadium at Lužánky has been ongoing for over 20 years. The existing stadium was built from 1949 to 1953. A new stand was built in the 1960s to 70s, and the capacity increased to 50,000 spectators. In October 1996, 44,120 spectators attended the match Brno – Slavia. The last league match was played at the stadium in September 2001, and it has been deteriorating since then.