Brno Curling Players Finally Have A Place To Train

A new curling centre opened in Nová Zbrojovka, on Lazaretní. The grand opening ceremony took place this weekend. Project visualisation: MMB.

Brno, 21 Oct (BD) – On Saturday and Sunday visitors had a chance to meet the curling champions of the Czech Republic. The Czech champion Jiří Snítil was present at the event with his team participating in the training.

The curling lanes, originally built for the Olympic Park, can be found in the new curling arena, which was created in one of the unused halls of the Nová Zbrojovka complex. Lukáš Merta, chairman of the Brno Curling Association, is pleased about the new arena: “We tried to find a convenient place that already exists. In this way, we have found a good use for otherwise difficult-to-use industrial space.”

According to Merta, two of the three curling lanes are currently open, and the third will be available in November. The lanes will be open every day until April 2020, when the curling season will end due to the weather. It will then reopen in Autumn 2020.

In December 2018 Brno City Council changed the decision of the city’s previous administration, choosing Nová Zbrojovka as the venue for the new ice rink, rather than the former Billa supermarket on Drobného. “This option turned out to be complicated, as the building would have to get official approval for the change of use. We have therefore been looking for other suitable locations, with the managing company, STAREZ-SPORT,” said Brno City Councilor Jaroslav Suchý (KDU-ČSL).

The lanes at the new curling centre will not need to be assembled and disassembled each year, which will significantly reduce the operating costs and service life of the equipment.

Brno’s curlers are among the top in the country, and form the basis of a national team that has ambitions to participate in the Winter Olympics. The 1. CK Brno curling club was formed 23 years ago but until now there has been nowhere to play the sport in Brno, so all competitions therefore had to take place in Prague.

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