More than 50 people came to Riga City Council to protest against the removal of public vegetable gardens from Lucavsala to clear the way for the construction of a football stadium, as reported by LETA.
Protesters had posted in their hands that said: “Leave this land for our children and grandchildren”, “Lucavsala garden is our life. No garden, no life”. “Football is a good thing, but there is no room for it on Lucavsala”, “Develop, not replace”.
The management of Riga City Council, including Mayor of Riga Vilnis Ķirsis, Vice-Mayor Edvards Ratnieks and multiple city council deputies exited to speak with protesters.
According to LETA, the President of Latvian Football Federation Vadims Ļašenko also came to observe the protest. He did not come to speak with protesters, however. He merely watched from a distance.
The protest was organised by “Daugavkrastu dārzi” association. Its purpose was to protest against the construction of a football stadium in Lucavsala. As LETA was told by the association, it invited politicians to postpone decision-making in regards to the transfer of a plot of land in Lucavsala for gratuitous use to the Latvian Football Federation (LFF).
According to Daugavkrasta dārzi, once information about the plans for the football stadium, its size and location have been properly clarified, it will be possible to tell how much space it will require. Additionally, it is necessary to hire an independent urban planning consultant, who would carry out independent research on the best place to build a stadium.
In the opinion of the association, the city council should decide on the preservation of Lucavsala as a greenery area without building rights in the future by making relevant amendments to the Riga City Development Plan.
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Residents protest in Riga against construction of football stadium on top of public gardens in Lucavsala
