Last year, the management of the Šiauliai Arena was entrusted to the company Šiauliai Universal Arena for 5 years. After the courts, the company that won this tender undertook to pay 50,000 euros each year for the use of property owned by the city.
The mayor of Šiauliai, Artūras Visockas, boasted about the excellent negotiations – he said that the treasury of the municipality, which generously fed the previous concessionaire, will now be filled with income.
It is only kept silent that the municipality will not get rich after all, because the manager was exempted from property and land rent amounting to around 55 thousand euros per year.
The managers of the municipality, which took back the arena from the previous concessionaire, the public institution “Pramogų sala”, assured that the building and its engineering systems are in good condition, therefore capital repairs carried out at the city’s expense were planned already after the end of this contract.
For years in Šiauliai, there have been legends about how much money is needed to maintain the arena. Therefore, the new manager prudently included a clause in the contract regarding the repair of the arena, if the fundamental deficiencies of the building and its engineering systems become apparent in the first year through no fault of the concessionaire.
Already after the first few months of work, “Šiauliai Universal Arena” sent a letter about the poor condition of the lighting and pipelines. As the weather warmed up, it became clear that the ventilation and cooling system was almost non-functional. It was concluded that investments are necessary in almost all engineering systems, so the Šiauliai City Council will have to vote on a solid amount for unplanned capital repairs.
“The condition of the building and engineering systems is poor not only due to natural wear and tear. Obviously, the arena could and should have been maintained better. This is also confirmed by the example of the Panevėžys Arena – the condition of this structure is much better,” said Renatas Načajus, head of the company managing the Šiauliai Arena.
It is estimated that about 800 thousand will be needed for capital repairs. euros. Most of them – 341 thousand. euros – consisting of the renovation of the ventilation and cooling system. 151 thousand should be invested in the security and monitoring system. EUR, fire safety system – about 91 thousand. EUR 70,000 each for cold water pipelines and lighting of the main event hall. EUR, building management systems – 67 thousand. euros.
According to R.Načajaus, the lighting and cold water pipelines should be repaired as soon as possible, later other works could be done.
The explanatory letter submitted to the Šiauliai City Council also provides that the overhaul will last this year and next.
The municipal administration director Antanas Bartulis, who led the group of specialists who took over the building from the previous concessionaire, was one of those who assured that the arena was restored in good condition. He repeated that no investments will be needed for 5 years, and then it will be possible to negotiate that the manager who took over the building for 15 years will carry out capital repairs himself.
Now the official explained that the previous concessionaire was required to carry out current repairs, but this is not enough. As an example, he gave a ventilation and cooling system that works but is only 20 percent efficient. After the event, a corroded light fixture broke off from the ceiling and fell – luckily, the audience had already left.
2024-09-11 21:44:31