Swedbank and Luminor have agreed to provide €100 million in financing for the construction of Lithuania’s long-awaited national stadium in Vilnius, the banks announced on Monday.
The funds will go to Vilniaus Daugiafunkcinis Kompleksas (Vilnius Multifunctional Complex), a company owned by real estate developer Hanner, they said in a statement.
According to the announcement, Swedbank will contribute €65 million and Luminor €35 million.
“We have no doubt that the 18,000-seat UEFA Category IV National Stadium and multifunctional complex will have a lasting and significant impact on sport and culture in both the capital and Lithuania as a whole,” said Ignas Mačeika, a member of Swedbank’s management board.
The development will include not only the main stadium but also a sports museum, a 300-place kindergarten, a cultural centre with a library, an athletics stadium, and football training pitches. The complex will also feature a multi-sport centre with basketball, handball, boxing, wrestling, and gymnastics halls.
Vytis Žegužauskas, Luminor’s head of business banking, said: “We believe this complex and thoroughly evaluated project – developed by one of the most professional construction groups in the sector – will result in a multifunctional sports facility that Vilnius can be proud of.”
As previously reported by BNS, Hanner completed negotiations with investment fund BaltCap at the end of June to take over the project, and later reached agreements with construction companies Naresta and Kalvasta statyba on the building works.
Under the agreement, Naresta will construct the main stadium, two football pitches, and key infrastructure for €70 million, while Kalvasta statyba will build the remaining facilities, including the arena, for €47.5 million.
In August last year, Vilnius City Council approved amendments to the concession agreement, which adjusted the distribution of project risks. As a result, the project will cost the municipality and the state around €155.1 million.
Vilnius Municipality and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport signed a 25-year concession agreement with Vilniaus Daugiafunkcis Kompleksas in October 2021.
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