The Latvian Football Federation (LFF) is considering the possibility of purchasing the Riga "Skonto" stadium with financial support from UEFA and FIFA. Currently, the stadium is owned by foreign investors, reports TV3.
This week, the government supported the information report prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science on the national football stadium project, which involves a public-private partnership model. The project's cost is estimated to be between 60 and 120 million euros depending on the decision and capacity, but the specific location and distribution of funding have not yet been determined.
The president of the Latvian Football Federation (LFF), Vadim Lashenko, confirmed in the broadcast that the federation has negotiated with the owners of the "Skonto" stadium but did not specify the amounts involved. According to him, UEFA is ready to allocate up to 15–16 million euros, and communication is currently ongoing with potential partners regarding possible funding models for the project.
According to the Land Register, the owner of the "Skonto" stadium is the company "Adventika Group," whose actual beneficiaries are citizens of Switzerland and Germany, and the company itself belongs to an offshore registered in Belize, "Silverton Enterprises Limited." Previously, the facility belonged to the former president of the LFF, Guntis Indriksons, whose businesses were seized by law enforcement in 2014 in connection with a case of possible fraud and money laundering.
As noted in the broadcast, the architectural bureau "SEP," involved in developing the stadium concept, previously worked as a subcontractor for the Russian concern "Titan-2," which is a strategic partner of the state corporation "Rosatom" in implementing nuclear projects in Finland, Turkey, Egypt, and Hungary. Representatives of "SEP" explained that the cooperation was purely technical and was terminated after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The head of "SEP" is Vladimir Mkhitaryan, who also leads the company "Balticovo." The director of strategic development is Baiba Blēdniece, previously associated with the political projects of Edgars Jaunups. In written comments, "SEP" denies Blēdniece's involvement in developing the football stadium concept; however, another representative of the company informed the broadcast otherwise — that Blēdniece is involved in the project "in an administrative capacity."
An international partner is also involved in the project — the architectural bureau "Populous," which has designed several well-known stadiums around the world. Representatives of the LFF and the Ministry of Education note that an analysis of various scenarios is currently being conducted to determine what is more economically feasible for Latvia — to build a new stadium or to renovate the existing infrastructure.
At the same time, criticism of the overall state policy on sports funding is increasing in the sports sector. Journalists and leaders of sports federations point out that the budget lacks funds even for basic functions, including children's and youth sports programs. For example, the volleyball federation reported a deficit of 700,000 euros, and about 4,000 children in sports schools are currently not receiving state subsidies.
Experts emphasize that even planned sports events are often funded from the "Contingency Expenses" line.
