Lithuania National Stadium

The Lithuania National Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Vilnius, Lithuania, that has been under construction since 1987. It is planned mostly for football matches and will host the home matches of the Lithuania national football team. It would replace the demolished Žalgiris Stadium and the current LFF Stadium as the main stadiums in Vilnius.

Stadium in 2013

Construction history

The project for the stadium was prepared by architect Algimantas Nasvytis in 1985.[1] The construction started in 1987, but stopped due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Construction works were fully terminated in 1993. In 2006, the government of Lithuania declared the stadium an object of national importance and arranged new contractors. The work resumed in February 2008, but was abandoned in late 2008 due to lack of funds and corruption allegations. The works cost about LTL 29 million. In November 2009, the Supreme Court of Lithuania annulled the construction contracts.[1]

New round of preparations started in May 2013. At the time, the Minister of Interior, Dailis Alfonsas Barakauskas, said that it was expected to be finished by 2016 at a cost of around EUR 78 million.[2] In March 2014, the government decided to utilize the public–private partnership model and to request funding from the European Union. A call for bids was announced in September 2016.[1] Two proposals were received by the December 2017 deadline. The lower-cost proposal was dismissed as inappropriate causing a lawsuit.[1] The Supreme Court ruled that the dismissal was lawful in August 2019. Axis Industries, owned by UAB ICOR, was ultimately selected as the builder. The government obtained funds from the European Union but was forced to divert them to other projects due to the delays.[3] Therefore, the project will be financed by the government of Lithuania and by the Vilnius City Municipality. The government approved a 25-year financing by a private equity fund in December 2019. The government agreed to pay the total of EUR 156 million (principal of EUR 93.2 million with interest of 6.87%).[4] The government of Lithuania agreed to cover EUR 54.5 million, while Vilnius City Municipality will pay a total of 101.5 million.[5]

However, in May 2020, the Public Procurement Office blocked the concession contract ruling that the government assumed too much risk for the project. This effectively canceled the project, unless the city municipality successfully appeals the decision to court.[6]

Design

The design approved in 2019 calls for a 15,000-seat stadium which would meet the requirements for Category 4 UEFA stadium.[7] The stadium will be designed by Populous, a global architecture firm specializing in sport venues. The skeletal structure from earlier constructions will be demolished.[5] The complex will include about thirty other objects. The main other structures include three football fields, 3,000-seat athletics stadium, an indoor complex with areas for gymnastics, handball, volleyball, boxing and six basketball courts, sports museum, community center with a library, 300-seat kindergarten, and 1,600-space parking lot. The entire complex would occupy an area of 22 hectares (54 acres) with the main stadium taking just about 10% of the area.[7] The national government will operate the sports museum, Vilnius City Municipality will operate the community center and the kindergarten, while Kauno Arena[5] received a concession to operate the stadium and other objects. The construction is expected to be completed by 2023.[7]

References
  1. Samkus, Mindaugas (1 February 2018). "Nacionalinio stadiono statybų istorija. Svarbiausių datų apžvalga" (in Lithuanian). BNS via Made in Vilnius. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  2. "Vilnius: Construction of national stadium to restart one more time". Stadiumdb.com. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  3. "Nesibaigianti nacionalinio stadiono istorija: gerų žinių laukia lapkritį" (in Lithuanian). Lietuvos rytas. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  4. "Nacionalinio stadiono finansavimas: be konkurso ir kvietimų bankams, bet su 6 proc. grąža". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). 18 December 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  5. BNS (18 December 2019). "Vilnius greenlights national stadium construction". Lietuvos nacionalinis radijas ir televizija. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  6. Zubrutė, Liucija (21 May 2020). "Nacionalinio stadiono komplekso projektas žlugo" (in Lithuanian). Verslo žinios. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  7. Savickas, Edgaras (4 December 2019). "Vilnius apsisprendė: nacionalinio stadiono kompleksas kainuos 156 mln. eurų". Delfi.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 24 February 2020.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.