The council of Brno approved a new concession procedure for the operator of the multifunctional hall.

Brno – The city council of Brno today approved a new concession procedure for the operator of the planned multifunctional hall at the exhibition grounds. The procedure will be simpler and shorter, stated municipal spokesperson Filip Poňuchálek in a press release. The previous procedure was canceled by the city after it failed to reach an agreement with the interested party, which was the hockey team Kometa Brno. The current documentation still needs to be approved by the municipal company Arena Brno as a co-initiator. The hall, estimated to cost 4.5 billion crowns, will offer over 13,000 seats for spectators.

Interested parties will have 45 days to submit bids from the start of the procedure. The selected bidder will be granted the concession for a planned period of 15 years, with the possibility of extending it for a maximum of another five years. "The concessionaire will pay the principal contractor a fixed lease fee, which is set from the 5th year of operation at a minimum of 40 million crowns excluding VAT, as well as an amount that is percentually derived from the achieved revenues and returns associated with the operation of the hall. This must make up at least 40 percent of the so-called adjusted revenues from the amount over 150 million crowns. The amount of these payments above the minimum required framework constitutes the evaluation criteria for the public procurement," stated Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková.

While the previous procedure had qualification, negotiation, and bidding phases, the newly approved one is proposed as a single-stage process. With the initiation of the concession procedure, suppliers will have a period of 45 days to submit their bids, which will subsequently be assessed and evaluated. Participants will need to demonstrate compliance with participation conditions in their bids and offer the parameters under which they will operate the hall. "Bidders must demonstrate technical qualification within the concession procedure. The first option is operating a multifunctional hall with a minimum of 6,000 seats, where at least 15 sports and 15 cultural or educational events have taken place within any 24-month period in the last five years. Alternatively, it is now also allowed to prove experience by organizing at least 30 sports, cultural, educational, or business events in various spaces," added Petr Kratochvíl (ODS), Chairman of the Board of the Arena Brno company and Brno councilor.

The hall will provide facilities for organizing sports, cultural, and conference events. The National Sports Agency has pledged funding for it, with Brno requesting 300 million. The city received four bids for the construction of the hall, which are currently under review. The Greens and the Žít Brno party opposed the hall, claiming that it would push the city to the brink of indebtedness and leave no funds for other investments, such as building and repairing apartments.