Originally opened nearly 100 years ago, Kadriorg Stadium (Kadrioru staadion), which seats around 5,000, is the flagship venue for athletics in Estonia and it is also the current home of JK Tallinna Kalev football team. It was used for international football fixtures before the A. le Coq Arena opened, over 20 years ago.

A social media group, one of many such neighborhood online groups in Tallinn and elsewhere in Estonia, contained posts addressing the subject.

One local Kardriorg resident wrote: "I live right next to the stadium, so I don't even need to turn on the lights in my apartment... Unfortunately, that makes the bedroom so bright, that how do you sleep?"

Another wrote: "Free room lighting. I don't know whether to laugh or cry."

ERR spoke face-to-face to a resident of Vesivärava tänav, adjacent to the stadium, who said that floodlights are always turned off by 11 p.m.

However, the stadium as a whole feels out of character for the district, they added.

"The stadium could be open to the public in the summer, and the yard accessible. It could be used as a recreational area," the resident, who did not want to be named, said.

"These floodlights don't fit in with the surrounding environment at all. I can't imagine how they actually got approved," they added.

The floodlights were installed via a public procurement process, and all the work, including the installation of lights, masts, and cables, cost nearly €3.4 million.

The four masts are 50 meters in height plus six more 25-meter masts. A total of 284 lights and over 8.5 kilometers of cabling was installed.

The stadium itself has reportedly not received any complaints to date, however, nor has the Tallinn city government district administration, or its culture and sports department.

Sportspeople have expressed pleasure over the stadium's lighting, not least because it finally meets international federation standards.

Risto Pomerants, senior specialist at the City of Tallinn's sports and culture department, said that measurements of the lighting intensity at the stadium had been taken, with the resulting measurement protocols to be sent to international federations for approval, adding that this level of standard had been "awaited for decades."

"Thanks to the lighting, the stadium can now host competitions which meet international requirements. The main arena's lighting is used only during competitions held in times of lower visibility. There are 10-15 athletic and football competitions taking place the arena throughout the season. The light is directed straight into the arenas, to ensure the necessary lighting intensity to suit TV broadcasts," Pomerants continued.

Since 1999, the stadium has been managed by the Tallinn culture and sports department, and it was granted International Association of Athletics Federations status following reconstruction, allowing it to host high-level international competitions such as the European athletics championships, for various age groups.

The stadium is located on a 7.26-hectare area between Roheline aas tänav and Laagna tee (see map above).

--

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