The Unibet Arena in Tallinn can accommodate up to 7,000 people for sporting events. Tarmo Hõbe, who ran the large hall for nine years, said Estonia was not on the map when it comes to organizing major events. Particularly in the winter period, numerous offers have to be turned down. Once complete, however, the new hall could have up to 15,000 seats.

"When it comes to the concerts of the world's top artists, the big concert promoters cannot consider Estonia, because if even the Unibet Arena, which is the biggest arena in Estonia, sells out, basically there is no way to break even. Today, inevitably, when artists come to the Baltics, they go to Riga, Vilnius or Kaunas," said Hõbe.

"When Iceland completes its large hall in 2027, Estonia will be the only developed country in Europe, as far as I know, without a hall suitable to host large events," said Minister of Education Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200).

The construction of the hall will be led by the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK), which will first construct an analysis to determine what kind of venue Estonia needs.

"The reality is that it is not possible to build a large hall just for ball games, it simply won't sustain itself on a day-to-day basis. That means we also have to bring in concerts, conferences and fairs. The likelihood of it really paying for itself privately, of recouping the investment, is not very high. Which means that we need help and support from the state to finish the hall," said EOK Secretary General Kristo Tohver.

Following a proposal from Eesti 200, the government plans to set up two national funds to invest in sport and culture. One will deal with major sports projects and the other will be for leveraging private sector funding for them.

"The basis for the creation of the two funds is the channeling of taxes from remote gambling into these funds. The creation of these funds will be based on the tax on remote gambling, which is the main base from which these funds will be grown and from which these investments in sports facilities, including the multi-purpose hall, as well as culture and sport in general, will come," said Kallas.  

The tax rate on remote gambling to raise funds would fall to 4 percent by 2028, Kallas said.

"This will increase the number of licenses registered in Estonia and will also raise the tax revenue on which we can invest in culture and sports activities," she said.

The construction of the hall could be completed in 2029, although it would not be ready for the European Basketball Championship (EuroBasket), which is to be co-hosted by Estonia that year, Kallas said.

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