Association "Hockey Lietuva" expects in Lithuania in 2024 to host the World Hockey Division I Group A or Group B Championship. If Lithuania were to be entrusted with organizing the World Division I Group A Championship, it would be the first time in the country's sports history, reports the National Sports Agency (NSA).
In a press release, the NSA states that the association "Hockey Lietuva" plans to hold the championship in 2024. April 20-27 The battles of the six national teams would take place in VilniusAvia Solutions Group" in an arena that could accommodate 8 people. hockey fans. It is planned that a total of about 40 thousand people will visit the event. fans from Lithuania and abroad.
"We have decided to try for the 3rd time to organize the World Division I Championship, because we want to raise the profile of Lithuania and ice hockey. Also, we get better results when we play at home. We hope that the support of our viewers will help us win the highest place we have achieved in the entire history of the country. We are also thinking about the economic benefits for both the city and the country - fans will come, 220 participants will live in hotels. We really hope that after the successful championship in Vilnius, we will have more children attending ice hockey training. After 2018 Beautiful the number of children playing hockey in sports schools increased by 30 percent during the championship. and not only in Kaunas, but also in Vilnius, Klaipėda. Sometimes the number of girls has increased," says Vaidas Budrauskas, general secretary of Hockey Lietuva, who presented the plans to the NSA.
The budget of the planned event is about 725 thousand. euros. Part - 200 thousand. euros - expected to be received from the state budget, 150 thousand. euros - from Vilnius city municipalities. The rest comes from funds received from the International Ice Hockey Federation, ticket sales, sponsorships and paraphernalia sales.
NSA director Mindaugas Špokas was happy that before submitting the application to the International Hockey Federation, the association "Hockey Lietuva" presented the vision of the event to the agency. The NSA, which supports Lithuania's candidacy to host an international ice hockey event, will make a positive recommendation to the National Sports Council this week.
"This is the first such consideration at the National Sports Agency. We will forward the recommendation with positive findings to the National Sports Council for a final decision. Today we heard the answers to the questions - Russians and Belarusians will not participate in this championship, Lithuania will have economic benefits, because it is important that the allocated state budget funds stay in Lithuania and promote the economy. This will also have a social impact, children's physical activity - we saw that children's interest in hockey increased after 2018. championship. The country's ice hockey federation is very experienced and has organized many events. We also saw the balanced budget of the planned championship. The National Sports Agency aims to create a clear system for planning and financing international high-quality sports events, which will ensure successful competition for the right to organize international competitions in Lithuania. We are currently preparing a description of this procedure, which will be presented to the sports community in May," says M. Špokas.
The NSA informs in a statement that at the end of May at the Congress of the International Ice Hockey Federation, it should become clear whether Lithuania will be entrusted with the right to hold the World Ice Hockey Division I Group A or Group B championship.
ELTA (ELTA)
