Converting Tallinn's Linnahall ice rink into a shooting range could cost millions

The city of Tallinn has offered the Estonian Defense League (EDL) the chance to convert the long-closed ice rink inside the Linnahall complex into a temporary shooting range. Deputy Mayor and EDL member Kristjan Järvan said the city consulted two shooting range operators before making the proposal, estimating the initial conversion cost at around €500,000.

Järvan said the space could accommodate shooting ranges of at least 55 meters. He argued the plan would give the mostly unused concrete structure a practical defense purpose without major spending. The final decision on whether to proceed rests with the Estonian Center for Defense Investments and the EDL itself. Järvan stressed that the city is simply offering the option, and any range would be temporary, lasting only until a longer-term plan for the building is decided.

Diverging cost estimates

Tõnis Orumaa, another EDL member and owner of the Tondi shooting range, said the rink's open design could suit tactical shooting particularly well, since its layout would allow firing across a wide arc rather than toward targets clustered at one end, as in conventional ranges.

However, he cautioned that the rink would need to be cleared and its leaking roof repaired before use, with ongoing upkeep costs afterward. Orumaa estimated the roof repair alone at about €3 million — money that, he said, could instead fund three EDL district support centers or two to three comparable shooting ranges elsewhere in the country. He pointed to EDL's Rapla and Järva districts, which currently lack adequate facilities of their own.

The EDL already operates a shooting complex near Tallinn, while the Estonian Defense Forces' Central Training Area remains the best-equipped training site. The Soviet-era Linnahall's ice rink has stood empty since closing in 2009, and it remains unclear whether the EDL will take on the building given its other priorities.