The main task of the ice halls at the moment is to survive until spring, in the hope that then the prices of energy resources will normalize, but without outside support it will be very difficult to do so, Andis Pikāns, chairman of the board of the car transport and logistics company “Kurbads un Ko”, admitted in an interview with the LETA agency. The group of companies also includes the manager of the “Kurbada” ice rink, SIA “Rumbulas sporta centrs”.
Content will continue after the ad
Advertising
He said that 70% of the expenses of the “Kurbada” ice rink are made by electricity, which runs compressors that produce cold, ventilation systems and many other things. If before, to ensure the maintenance of the ice rink, monthly electricity payments amounted to an average of 6,000 to 10,000 euros depending on weather conditions, now they are already 30,000-40,000 euros.
On Thursday, the “Aizmugure” program of “Delfi” also discussed the situation of how the sports complexes operating in Latvia plan to deal with the high bills. There was also a possibility that the ice rinks may have to be closed.
“Before, we fought for the hall to be self-sufficient and work without losses, because the main function of the hall is social, and this is the way we as a company have decided to share with the community by supporting a sports school, opportunities for 150 young people of all age groups to engage in sports and being active. Right now, this bucket is too heavy. The amount of money we currently have to take out of our transport company to put into this social enterprise has become too much. It’s clear that we won’t be able to afford it in the long term.” admitted Pican.
He emphasized that ice sports with such energy costs will most likely simply die out because they will become expensive.
Pikan mentioned that previously the average rental price of the ice rink was around 200 euros per hour. Currently, taking into account the increase in the price of electricity, the price should be on average 350-400 euros. Most of the interviewed parents of amateur hockey teams and sports school students have admitted that they cannot afford to pay much more for hall services.
“Well, the alternative is, of course, for people to play only football and basketball in the future. But we know that ice hockey and figure skating have very long historical traditions in Latvia. Therefore, in my opinion, it would make sense to think about how to join hands with everyone during these six to eight months. , so that we can endure in the hope that prices will fall, the market will normalize and we will be able to keep these sports, instead of closing the halls and rebuilding them into warehouses. But this requires support,” said the head of “Kurbads un Ko”.
In addition, he emphasized that the support can be in very different forms, for example, also purchases for schoolchildren’s skating lessons.
“Kurbads un Ko” board member Renārs Slesarchuks said that both the Latvian Hockey Federation and the Ministry of Education and Science, which is responsible for the development of sports in Latvia, have been informed about the situation.
He also pointed out that the state should be aware at this time that almost the entire infrastructure of ice rinks in Riga has been built at the expense of private entrepreneurs, and the state has not had to invest in its development so far. The exception in Riga is only the new ice hall at the “Daugava” stadium and the small hall of the hockey school “Rīga”, but all the others are private ice rinks.
“Unfortunately, so far at the political level, we have not been able to gain understanding in the Ministry of Education and Science. We really hope that this will change. These are short-term difficulties that need state support to overcome, because no one could predict that the price of electricity will increase tenfold,” admitted Slesharchuk.
When asked if the state support will not be received, whether the alternative will be that the “Kurbada” ice rink is closed and the ice melted, Pikans answered in the affirmative.
It has already been reported that the turnover of SIA “Kurbads un Ko” last year was 10.299 million euros, which is 22.8% more than the year before, while the company’s profit increased by 79.9% – up to 1.68 million euros.
The company was registered in 1995, and its share capital is 152,224 euros. “Kurbads un Ko” belongs to SIA “11k holdings”, whose owner is Andis Pikāns.
On the other hand, “Rumbulas sporta centrs”, owned by “Kurbads un Ko” and Pikan, ended last year with a turnover of 261,252 euros, which is 19.1% less than in 2020, and also made a profit of 42,854 euros in contrast to the losses a year earlier .
Read the entire interview on LETA+: https://leta.lv/plus/1D058DC6-19AE-4705-85AE-B596C9EB677E/
