"Due to the rapid price increases, (building the) football halls has become significantly more expensive than planned, which has put municipalities in a difficult situation. In order to finish what we have started, we are providing additional support for the halls from next year's budget," said Minister of Culture Piret Hartman (SDE).

The Ministry of Culture has proposed the an additional €1 million to Kuressaare and €1 million to Paide on the list of regional investments to be allocated from the 2023 state budget for the construction of football and gymnastics halls.

An additional €1.5 million returned by the City of Jõhvi after it decided not to proceed with the construction of its own football hall, will not be split equally between Pärnu and Rakvere, both of which also received funding in the same year.

"We applied for additional funds for all the municipalities, which we are already supporting. However, the state budget is limited," said Hartman. "At the same time, the Ministry of Culture has a clear desire to find additional funding for other municipalities from the 2024 state budget. The municipalities that have already received support will continue to have access to the €1.5 million or the remainder of the amount, which has been allocated for the construction of the halls so far. The municipalities that have received support in the last two years but have not yet started their projects will be able to complete them by the end of 2024," added the Minister of Culture. 

Since 2020, 12 municipalities have each been allocated grants of €1.5 million (€18 million in total), for the construction of football halls. Halls have already been completed using the funds in Haapsalu, Rapla, Tartu and Viljandi.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!