The multi-functional hall, the construction of which is planned by the developer group Redstone on the land of former military warehouses near the center of Olomouc, will require a total investment of approximately CZK 1.85 billion. The financing of the construction will be provided by the developer, after which the town hall should participate in paying for the operation of the hall for 30 years. The initial annual contribution of the public sector is supposed to amount to CZK 36.9 million, of which CZK 30 million fall to the city. The contribution will increase by inflation. Redstone’s representatives have already presented the project to councilors, and next week the councilors will discuss the offer of cooperation on this investment.
The Redstone company has been negotiating with the town hall regarding possible cooperation in the construction and operation of the multifunctional hall since last year. Due to financial difficulties and indebtedness, the city was unable to implement its own project for a new facility providing facilities for sports and culture, which would replace the dilapidated winter stadium. The construction of the city hall was supposed to require CZK 1.4 billion, of which CZK 300 million were to be covered by subsidies from the National Sports Agency. But the subsidy program was not announced.
The five-story multi-functional arena of the Redstone group is to be part of the planned Nová Velkomoravská urban district. The chairman of the board of directors of Redstone Real Estate Richard Morávek pointed out in the offer addressed to the city management in August that if the company and the town hall agree on cooperation, the project will first have to be notified by the European Commission. “Any other mode of providing a subsidy (from the city), i.e. without notification to the EC, could in the future pose a risk that the provided subsidy constitutes public support that is not compatible with the internal market,” he said.
If the town hall wants to continue preparing the project, it will have to ask the EC to assess the plan. At the same time, the project documentation, the operational plan of the hall and the contractual documentation would be prepared. According to Morávek, this project is advantageous for the city, because the town hall will not have to make a large initial investment in the new city hall. “Subsidy funds from central sources for similar projects are currently not available,” said Morávek, according to whom the city would not even have to invest in the modernization of the old winter stadium.
The reclamation of the area of the military warehouses was started this spring. Up to 12 blocks of houses should be built on the land in the coming years. The former engineering warehouses have an area of 171,339 square meters. The army sold the area in 2010 for several tens of millions of crowns. The owner then became the company Net Media Group, which then ended up in bankruptcy.
In the spring of 2019, the property was auctioned off by the company Nemovosti najemního vyhávní II from the Unicapital group, owned by businessman Pavel Hubáček. The land was then transferred to the Nová Velkomoravská company, whose owner became Redstone Real Estate instead of Unicapital. In recent years, Morávek has built Galerie Šantovka shopping center on the land of the former Milo business and is planning other buildings there, including a high-rise building.
Source: RedStone and CTK
