Three Estonia cities throw hat in major arena build ring

Image: The view from Toompea Hill, Gunnar Bach Pedersen, Public Domain

Pärnu, Tallinn and Tartu (major cities in Estonia) submitted bids by the deadline to host the major arena planned by the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK).
 

Applications Submitted

‘news.err.ee’ stated that all the three cities seeking to host the multifunctional arena submitted applications to the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK) by the September 1^st deadline.

Tallinn (Estonia)-based the Estonian Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee responsible for Estonia’s participation in the Olympic Games.
 

Proposed Locations

‘news.err.ee’ further stated that more specifically Pärnu, Tallinn and Tartu submitted proposed locations along with additional documentation thus allowing the bids to now be compared, the Estonian Olympic Committee multifunctional arena Project Manager Helen Veermäe said.
 

Substantive Characteristics

Maintained Veermäe, “The aim is to ensure that all the potential locations are assessed on a comparable basis and, above all, according to their substantive characteristics and potential.”
 

Preferred Sites

Tallinn proposed the Ülemiste freight terminal area (a logistics and railway site in Tallinn, Estonia) as the location for the arena. Pärnu’s preferred site is near the future Rail Baltica Terminal (the second major international passenger hub being built in Estonia) in Veterans Park (a public recreation and green space) next to the Papiniidu Bridge on the banks of the Pärnu River. The City of Tartu has reserved a plot of land for the arena on Roosi tänav (a notable pedestrian-focused street) near the Estonian National Museum.
 

Selection Process

The selection process will now begin. In May, the Estonian Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Culture formed an expert committee that will oversee the selection process and ultimately submit a recommendation, together with its reasoning, to the Government.
 

Economic Impact Analysis

As a first step, however, the expert committee will soon select an independent expert to conduct an economic impact analysis, Veermäe informed.

She added, “The independent expert selected will prepare a comparative economic impact analysis based on the materials submitted by the cities, gather additional data where necessary and conduct interviews with the representatives of the cities and the other key stakeholders.”
 

Suitable Location

Once the expert committee has approved the expert who will conduct the analysis the economic impact analysis will take approximately three months to complete. The expert committee will then prepare a summary and submit its recommendation on the most suitable location to the Government, Veermäe said.
 

Final Decision

The Government will make the final decision on which city the arena will ultimately be built in. Once that decision has been made it will also become clear when construction could begin and when the arena could be completed.
 

Preparatory Phase

The Estonian Olympic Committee began the arena project’s preparatory phase last November. Among other things the representatives have visited Finland to study the business model of a multifunctional arena.
 

Unibet Arena

Plans for the arena began to be pursued more seriously after Estonia secured the right to host the 2029 European Basketball Championship. Estonia’s largest indoor arena at present is Tallinn’s Unibet Arena, which can accommodate up to 7,000 spectators.

The EuroBasket 2029 will be the 43^rd edition of the EuroBasket Championship, the quadrennial international Men’s basketball championship organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Europe. Like the previous four editions the tournament will be co-hosted by multiple countries – Estonia, Greece, Slovenia, and Spain. It will take place in the summer of 2029.

Munich (Germany)-based FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) which includes all 50 national European basketball federations.

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• Estonian Olympic Committee
• Pärnu
• Tallinn
• Tartu

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