Riga City Council will decide on the allocation of more than 10 hectares for the construction of a football stadium in Lucavsala / Diena

Today, the City Property Committee of the Riga City Council supported the transfer of land for free use to the Latvian Football Federation. The land will be put into use until the time when the real estate is needed by the municipality to ensure its functions, but not longer than five years.

Within five years, the LFF must develop the documentation for the construction of the stadium and the municipality will have to decide on the future action with this land, for example expropriating it in favor of the federation.

As MP Kaspars Spunde (NA/LRA) said at the committee meeting, when the stadium is built and a new street connection is built through Kaza sekli, some small gardens will suffer and will have to be eliminated. Therefore, the municipality will have to offer residents another area where they can cultivate gardens.

Several MPs expressed doubts whether Lucavsala is the most suitable place for the construction of such a stadium. In their opinion, the stadium, similar to the hockey arena in the Skanstes neighborhood, should be built in one of the outskirts of Riga, thus giving the opportunity for this neighborhood to develop. On the other hand, Lucavsala’s development opportunities are said to be limited because it is an island.

“Progresīvo” deputies did not support the progress of the draft decision to the Riga City Council meeting – Alija Turlaja voted against, while Mārtiņš Kossovičs and Igors Kļaviņš abstained from the vote.

According to the information available in the archive of the LETA agency, it was during the time of Mārtiņš Staķs, the mayor of “Progresīvo”, that the protocol of intent was signed for the construction of a national-scale stadium.

As the mayor, Staķis informed at the press conference that a national football stadium in Riga could be built in Lucavsala or Uzvaras Park. He revealed that 10 different options were initially considered, but then three remained. Two of the possible stadium locations were considered in Lucavsala, and one in Uzvaras Park.

At the time, Staķis admitted that Lucavsala seems to be the most acceptable option for him, but this is only his opinion and the members of the Riga City Council will have to decide on where to build such a stadium.

As Kossovics emphasized at the committee meeting today, he hopes that he will be able to vote for the construction of the stadium in Lucavsala at the council meeting.

He stated that he is in favor of implementing such a project in Riga, but it is necessary to respect the interests of all parties involved so that the stadium is built in the best place.

At the committee meeting, Kossovic did not hear answers to many questions, including about investors. In his opinion, a qualitative discussion is needed to consider other alternative places for the construction of the stadium.

The final decision on the allocation of land for free use by LFF will have to be made by the Riga City Council.

Based on the last published calculations, the implementation of the national football stadium project could cost about 44 million euros, the Sports Subcommittee of the Saeima Education, Culture and Science Commission was previously informed by LFF President Vadims Lashenko. Of this amount, 12 million, or a little more than a quarter, would be covered by the Association of European Football Federations (UEFA). Additional financing from other sources is needed in the amount of less than 32 million euros. These estimates are based on the fact that additional funds will not be needed for the purchase of the necessary plot of land in cooperation with the Riga City Council.

About a third of this amount, or less than 16 million euros, is needed for additional functionality to create together working spaces, offices, conference halls, a hotel and restaurants.

After the implementation of the project, the facility could generate five million euros of income annually, thus covering all maintenance costs, Lashenko estimated. LFF vice-president and board member Olafs Pulks (JV), who is also a member of the Riga City Council, noted that the stadium will not require additional investments after the start of operation.

After evaluating nine potential stadium locations, it was concluded that the most appropriate place to build a 16,000-seat stadium is Lucavsala.

The visualization created by the German architectural office “Fiebiger GMBH”, recommended by UEFA and the International Association of Football Federations (FIFA), predicts that the total area of ​​the multifunctional sports complex project could be less than 119,000 square meters, of which the stadium would occupy a little more than 66,000 square meters.

According to LFF’s calculations, by implementing such a project, Latvia would be visited by at least 40,000 more tourists every year, which would bring an additional 35 million euros to the Latvian economy every year. The stadium could host more than 35 international level football matches annually, as well as ten concerts or other events.

The project is currently in the first of three development stages, and its conclusion, which also includes putting the project into operation, is planned no earlier than 2027.

Currently, Latvia does not have a fourth-category stadium, which may lead to a situation where the national team has to play matches in another country, for example, Lithuania or Estonia.