Riga city council official proposes moving national football stadium from Lucavsala to Skanste

Edgars Bergholcs, chair of the Riga City Council's Urban Development Committee, is proposing that the planned national football stadium be moved from Lucavsala to the Skanste neighbourhood of Riga, next to Xiaomi Arena. He argues the site could grow into a multifunctional sports and events centre with suitable infrastructure. The proposal follows consultations with urban planners.

Why Skanste

Riga city architect Pēteris Ratas and the council's Urban Development Department have said Skanste would be a better location, citing the city's development priorities and how well the surroundings suit a project of this scale. They say the infrastructure investment needed at other alternative sites would be considerably higher.

Bergholcs names the area's strategic position as a key advantage: it is close to the city centre and easy to reach from other neighbourhoods. Parking facilities could also be built there, and Skanste already hosts large international sporting events. With a stadium, he says, the area would become a hub for sports events, and both venues could share extensive support infrastructure. In his view, Lucavsala would be better kept for other purposes important to the city and its residents.

The council stresses that, although Skanste has become a major office district, new offices alone cannot make full use of such a large area. A stadium would attract sports-related businesses, hotels, retail and other service providers.

Funding and access

Bergholcs calls for a public-private partnership model to be considered. Because the land there belongs to the state and the municipality, the project could combine public and private resources. He says this is the last moment to decide on modern football infrastructure, and that if the city and the Latvian Football Federation act quickly, they could jointly ask the state to support the project.

Well-considered mobility solutions would be an essential precondition. The council says the municipality would need to ensure convenient public transport, including by advancing the long-planned Skanste tram line.