A lot has been invested so that the derby will be held in “Skonto” stadium already in April – Football – Sportacentrs.com

In 2023, the first match in the Premier League season at the “Skonto” stadium took place only on June 30, when “Riga” played 2:2 against RFS in an interesting match. Why so late? Because before that, in June, “Riga” had no home games at all, while in May they were still playing at the Mežaparks SV field. This year, the situation is different – the middle of spring has not yet arrived, when it is time for the first match at the “Skonto” stadium.

“As soon as we found out the season calendar, we decided on the following goal,” explained “Riga” press secretary Krišs Upenieks. “It was a challenge, yes, but if we are a club with specific ambitions, then such a goal should have been. After all, the pitch heating system is not a cheap pleasure.”

“It cannot be said that the date marked on the calendar was the most grateful,” continued Upenieks. “There were discussions about the possibility of exchanging places with RFS, say, they play the first game at their home ground, but the second is at our place. But it’s clear that it’s not really in their interest. It wasn’t in our interest to play on the artificial field, which was done. It was not easy, because the weather was different, the rain and drought made it difficult to prepare the pitch, but the people who work at the stadium did a lot of work. Their work sometimes remains behind the scenes, but the game will be able to take place at the “Skonto” stadium already in April , is a great merit for them. It is not enough to simply make a financial contribution, real human work is also necessary.”

The representative of “Riga FC” did not name the exact sums invested in the preparation of this match, but indicated that the expenses for heating the field alone were very high. “I can’t say enough good things about our electric bill,” he said. “The weather was also important here. Before, when the weather got warmer and it seemed that summer had already arrived, even on some warm days the grass grew a lot on the field.”

“Now we look at the weather forecasts every day and follow the situation,” said Upenieks. “Saturday should already have very good weather, which will be important not only for the game itself, but also for the Ozola concert. The quality of the grass? Close to very good. It looks like we will need 3-4 days for the pitch to be perfectly ready, but the quality will be good .”

A year ago, the Riga derby on June 30 gathered 4,752 spectators at the “Skonto” stadium, according to an entry in the match protocol. The press secretary of “Riga” stated that currently the ticket sales figures even exceed the trends of the match on June 30, 2023. “We are not spoiled by the weather, that’s true. If a person in Riga looks out of the window right now, the first thought that comes to mind will hardly be watching football in person. However, it looks like the situation will be better on the weekend. By the way, compared to the mentioned 30 ., there was also a discussion about which one is better, and there are arguments that April 27 is perhaps even more suitable for a big game – spring has started, but it’s not yet vacation time, and it’s not yet summer time for children, besides another concert. In my opinion, very nice arguments.”

It was already mentioned that the idea to exchange games with RFS did not come true, but this does not mean that in this respect the two Riga clubs, which are irreconcilable opponents on the football field, do not have mutual cooperation. The press secretary of “Riga” stated that this time also RFS will have three sectors with 900 spectator seats and that RFS responds with similar kindness in its home games, moreover, they are also now making special efforts to promote the upcoming derby and are inviting fans to buy tickets for the game on their social networks. As the away team, RFS theoretically wouldn’t have to. “Let’s face each other,” said Upenieks about cooperation with RFS at the marketing level.

Saturday’s big match at the “Skonto” stadium, where the two leading teams of the Premier League will meet, will also be available on the TV4 channel and on the Sportacentrs.com portal.