Estonian developer Invego plans new city district on site of Riga's Skonto Stadium

Estonian real estate developer Invego plans to tear down Skonto Stadium in Riga, home ground of the Latvian national football team, and create a new modern urban district on the site. The company agreed to buy the stadium at the end of last month. The project would link historic Riga with Skanste, an area north of the city center.

Invego intends to invest around €100 million over 12 years to turn the land currently occupied by Skonto Hall and the stadium into a residential area. The new development would connect the Old Town, the city center and other new projects.

Vision of a future urban environment

Invego board member Kristjan-Thor Vähi said the company wants to bring the urban environment of the future to the site. In his words, people 15 years ago wanted to live in their own houses behind fences, whereas today the best residential districts have apartments above and everyday life at ground level: cafes, restaurants, shops, hairdressers and kindergartens.

The company has worked in Riga for several years and now regards Latvia as its home market. Invego has won several awards for its Latvian projects.

Vähi stressed that large construction projects can be completed much faster in Latvia than in Estonia. Citing the Vitolsi Parks project with 400 homes, he said it took two years in Riga from buying the property to the start of construction, which would be unthinkable in Tallinn. He argued that something has been done right in Latvia over the past five years and that the country is moving in a good direction.

A new national stadium

A new national stadium will also be built in the same area, on the site of the parliament's vehicle depot opposite Arena Riga.

Edgars Bergholcs, head of the Riga City Council's Urban Development Committee, noted that the area is Riga's historic center and a protected zone, so strict construction rules apply. He added that Skonto Stadium no longer meets the requirements of the urban environment: access and parking are difficult, and its historic-center status is unsuitable. This causes problems with getting there, safety and other matters.