According to Mayor Bronius Markauskas, the multifunctional center, once state funding was received, could have been set up within three years.
“The stadium reconstruction plans have not been abandoned – these projects did not interfere with each other. And now, in order to set up the indoor arena, a longer process awaits, because design is needed, preparation of the investment project and other procedures,” the municipality stated in a comment to BNS.
At the Klaipėda district municipality council meeting held on Thursday, it was planned to discuss the issue of building an ice arena in Gargždai, but this was removed from the agenda due to community outrage.
According to the municipality, the idea of a universal sports arena, where the needs of different sports could be combined, arose when the opportunity to apply for funding from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports for sports infrastructure projects appeared. However, applications could only be submitted for a limited time for projects that already had a prepared design and a valid building permit.
“Since the application submission period was limited, preparing a new project would have been impossible. And the ice arena documentation is already prepared,” the municipality claims.
It emphasizes that although the possibility of combining the needs of football, ice, and other sports in one multifunctional facility during different seasons was considered, the ice arena was not intended as an alternative to football infrastructure.
“This way, the aim was not only to take advantage of the available state funding opportunity but also to create broader sports infrastructure. In the cold season, football players could have trained there, and at other times of the year, the space could have been used for the ice arena and other sports activities,” the municipality insists.
Before the municipality council meeting on Thursday, a protest called “Let’s not leave football on ice” took place in Gargždai, gathering several hundred people.
In turn, B. Markauskas states that nearly 80,000 people live in the Klaipėda district and “there is room here for all sports.”
“We had the opportunity to solve the football problem – the lack of training space in winter – within about three years with state funding, and at the same time create space for new sports and community gatherings,” the mayor wrote on Facebook this week.
“So the lesson is this – sometimes some people should put their ambitions aside and really try to create something that would benefit both football and the entire district community,” he said.
According to the project, the ice arena was planned to be used as a skating rink in summer, and in winter it would have been adapted for football – it would have had a space about half the size of a standard field for training under a roof.
After the municipality withdrew from plans to build the ice arena, the Gargždai football team “Banga” committed to financially contributing to the renovation of football infrastructure: the club will allocate 100,000 euros and cover one-third of the planned design cost.
“Next week, a working group will start operating, consisting of three representatives from the municipality and three from the football club ‘Banga.’ This working group will form the task for the football indoor arena at the stadium, the entire football stadium reconstruction, and the ‘Krantas’ progymnasium stadium project preparation,” the club announced this week.
According to it, in upcoming council meetings, the cooperation agreement between the municipality and “Banga” will be updated, and other council decisions will be made to start the design work.
The football club Gargždai “Banga” was founded in 1966. In 2024, the club won the Lithuanian Football Federation Cup final against Kaunas district’s “Hegelmann” footballers and won this trophy for the first time.
