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In January, the Latvian government decided to invest another three million euros.
They will be designed to adapt the Latvian Olympic Sports Center to another group’s competitions so that Riga can host the World Hockey Championships alone.
As you know, according to the original plan, a group of eight competitions would be held at Riga Arena in Latvia, and the other and final competitions would be held in Minsk.
When the situation in Belarus became tense as a result of the violence of the Alexander Lukashenko regime, the IIHF finally deprived the country of the right to have priorities and began to think of other options, from which it soon excluded the deceased Lithuanians.
Latvia wanted a second group, but needed a second arena.
The Riga Arena, built for the 2006 World Championships, has a capacity of 10,3 thousand. Spectators, there is a Riga Dinamo match in the KHL league, but the Olympic Sports Center was not dedicated to hockey; In 2005, the complex, which replaced the old racecourse, was dedicated to other sports: basketball players, footballers, volleyball players, beach volleyball players, sportsmen, swimmers, gymnasts. The Latvian Football Federation is also there.
“Our weakness was that we lacked a second arena. To adapt the next stadium and hold all the competitions in Latvia, the Government has committed to contribute 3 million. Edgar Sever, director of the Sports Department of the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
According to him, those three million will be invested in the preparation and preparation of the arena, placing ice instead of a soccer field, to cover the rental costs.
The total budget is 14 million. euros
Between 2018 and 2020, the Latvian government allocated less than 600,000 for the championship. euros. Another 700 thousand. It was provided in case only one group competition was held in Riga.
E.Sever emphasized that Bratislava (Slovakia) and Herning (Denmark), which competed with Latvians, had stadiums that met all the requirements. If the IIHF had decided to hold a competition in one of these cities, its stadiums would not have had to spend a significant additional amount.
In the case of Latvia, the second sand was missing, so it will take up to 3 million to install it. euro of state money.
Photo by Scanpix / Latvian hockey players
E. Sever noted that the IIHF estimates that the price of the World Hockey Championship will reach $ 14 million. euros.
Of these, 2 million. It will be necessary to prepare for compliance with the COVID-19 security protocol.
The pandemic situation may have even helped the Latvians take over the entire Hockey World Championship, which will take place from May 21 to June 6. The IIHF Council is believed to have decided that the teams in Riga will avoid travel between countries, which will add safety and efficiency to ensure the health of the participants.
World Cup – no spectators?
The president of the Latvian Hockey Federation, Aigaras Kalvitis, said Tuesday that the admission of spectators to the world championship rostrum will depend on the epidemiological situation in the country. If the situation improves, it is possible to organize the ticket sales and later, according to him, three days after the Government of Latvia gives the permission.
In the current situation, this is unlikely.
Latvian Prime Minister Krišjanis Karinis said in an interview with “900 Seconds” on Wednesday that the World Hockey Championship will be held without spectators and will be epidemiologically safe.
“It will be a bubble where the players and other participants will be completely separated from the rest of society,” said the Latvian prime minister.
Reuters / Photo by Scanpix / Latvian Prime Minister Krišjanis Karinis
He added that the IIHF already had a similar experience when it hosted the World Youth Hockey Championships in Canada.
The Prime Minister noted that the Government is working with the Latvian Hockey Federation on the details of preparation and financing, although the IIHF will assume most of the financial obligations.
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