Invego to replace Riga’s Skonto stadium with a new district

Estonian property developer Invego is acquiring Riga’s Skonto football stadium and plans to replace it with a modern urban district, ERR reports. The stadium will be demolished, with Invego planning to invest about 100 million euros in the project over 12 years.

Invego board member Kristjan-Thor Vähi said the development would combine apartment buildings with street-level cafes, restaurants, shops, hair salons and kindergartens.

The Skonto stadium, once home to Latvia’s national football team, is ageing and will give way to a neighbourhood intended to connect Riga’s old town and city centre with newer developments.

Latvia’s state and Riga municipality plan to build a new national stadium in the same part of the city, on land used by the parliament’s vehicle fleet, opposite Riga Arena.

Edgars Bergholcs, head of Riga City Council’s urban development committee, said the Skonto stadium no longer suited its historic-centre setting. He cited difficult access and parking, as well as concerns about getting crowds to events and keeping them safe.

Vähi said Invego had completed a 400-home project in Riga, Vitolsi Parks, and that it took two years from buying the property to starting construction. He said development projects in Latvia had moved faster than comparable projects in Tallinn.