After representatives of ice sports expressed their disapproval of changing the function of the Kaunas ice arena, representatives of the municipality claim that their interests and those of sports federations do not coincide, and the city aims to give priority to the employment of children, not athletes.
According to Tadas Vasiliauskas, head of the Sports Department of Kaunas Municipality, as a result, the decision to reconstruct the ice arena in Žaliakalnis into a multifunctional sports complex with universal pitches was not coordinated with ice sports federations.
Sports section: the interests of professionals and townspeople differ
“The municipality is not accountable to the sports federations, and according to the Law on Sports, the federations, not the municipality, are responsible for the popularization and development of sports in Lithuania,” said T. Vasiliauskas.
According to him, “the federation has its own needs as high-quality athletes”, at that time the Kaunas city municipality and administration are responsible for ensuring and improving sports conditions for citizens and children.
“Perhaps there is a difference of interests, because it is important for the federations to have high-quality athletes who carry the basket for financing sports federations. There was no communication because priorities and needs are probably different,” said the head of the Sports Department.
This question was raised by Martynas Prievelis, an elder of the opposition faction of the Fatherland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) at the council meeting.
The federations call for discussion, the opposition agrees
The municipality announced on Monday that winter sports representatives will have to leave the old Kaunas ice arena this year, as it is planned to install basketball, volleyball and futsal courts here. According to the municipality, it is being considered that the winter sportsmen will move to the ice palace on Kovo 11th Street, which was opened a few years ago.
On Tuesday morning, winter sports representatives expressed their concern in a public letter to the mayor of Kaunas and council members that the reconstruction of the ice arena is not thoroughly discussed, that the proposed reform is ill-considered, and “the prospects for the development of sports facilities important to the country are being ignored.”
The letter was signed by the president of the Lithuanian Skating Federation (LČF), Vytautas Jasutis, general secretary of the Association “Hockey Lietuva” Vaidas Budrauskas, and general secretary of the Lithuanian Curling Association Vygantas Zalieckas.
“With this statement, we do not support the hasty actions of the Kaunas municipality, aimed at changing the purpose of the Kaunas ice arena, the optimization plan, ignoring the positions expressed by the communities, we invite dialogue, taking into account the expectations of the partners,” said representatives of ice sports.
They propose to the municipality to create a working group in which all interested parties would seek closer cooperation on the reform of sports facilities, they say they are ready to present a plan for how the ice arena building could continue to be used according to its original purpose.
At the council meeting, M. Prievelis also voiced the statement of the TS-LKD faction, with which the opposition conservatives expressed their disapproval of closing the arena for ice sports.
The faction requests that the municipality, unable to maintain the ice arena, continues to use it according to its intended purpose by renting it out to interested parties, to make public information about the expected occupancy of the building on Kovo 11-osji street after the ice sports activities are moved there, and to organize a survey of residents to assess whether the citizens of Kaunas support the closing of the arena for ice sports.
Administrative Director: The plan has been presented, the athletes will fit
Tadas Metelionis, the director of the municipality’s administration, told BNS after the council meeting that after analyzing the occupancy of the new ice rink, it became clear that less than 5% of one rink is being used, as representatives of one sport have reserved it, but rarely use it.
“We have a situation where a dozen athletes of higher skill use the field, which at that time could serve several hundred children of our city who want to attend clubs. Probably, we are talking about such conflicts of interest”, said T. Metelionis.
According to him, the municipality primarily aims to make the available infrastructure accessible to children and young people.
“It was discussed with the community of our winter sports school. Information about plans and intentions has been known for some time to our children, families, their coaches who attend clubs, our sports schools. Discussions were also held with the federations informing them about the plans and presenting opportunities for further use of our winter sports infrastructure,” said the director of administration.
According to him, the decision to transform one ice rink into a multi-functional sports center was made only after making sure that the conditions would not deteriorate primarily for the children and young athletes of Kaunas, “there will definitely be time for professional athletes as well”.
According to preliminary data of T. Metelionis, the conversion of the ice arena could cost about 200 thousand. euros or a little more. The ice equipment in the building, which was already capitally reconstructed a few years ago, will not be dismantled, so if necessary, the ice can be poured here again.
As Kaunas municipality announced on Monday, the “Startas” sports school, which administers the ice arena on Aušros Street, currently has about 300 pupils attending figure skating and ice hockey training.
According to the municipality, after moving the athletes to the new ice palace, two full-sized squares will accommodate all winter sports enthusiasts. The municipality calls it a rational decision in order to efficiently use the available infrastructure.
At that time, the interior of the ice arena in Žaliakalnyi is to be reconstructed, leaving the exterior of the building the same.
It is planned to install three universal courts here, where volleyball, handball, badminton, outdoor tennis, basketball and fencing training would take place. It is promised that almost 3.7 thousand square meters, the ice arena will be transformed into a multifunctional sports complex this year.
According to the municipality, the renovated spaces of the ice arena could accommodate more than 500 athletes.
BNS photo
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Tags: Federations conversion Kaunas ice arena municipality priority citizens
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