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Kaunas city leader Andrius Kupčinskas, trying to cover up mistakes made, only made matters worse. Due to the inactivity and incompetence of Kaunas city municipality, Kaunas lost the opportunity to have a national stadium where top-level football matches could take place as early as this spring. The city leader began to justify himself by not choosing his words carefully.
The statement of Kaunas leader surprised the President of the Lithuanian Football Federation Liutauras Varanavičius, claiming that supposedly the LFF president did not participate in discussions about the reconstruction of the S.Darius and S.Girėnas Stadium. Information about the meeting between A.Kupčinskas and L.Varanavičius is still being published on the official website of Kaunas city municipality.
After the meeting of the leaders and the decision in principle to reconstruct the main city stadium, work had to be started by specialists from both sides.
"Unfortunately, the city leader, who publicly declared his desires, did not infect the administration employees with this passion," regretted L.Varanavičius - "Our specialists who communicated with the residents of Kaunas felt as if we were not allocating 3 million for the reconstruction of the city stadium, but asking for it from the municipality."
The lawyers of the LFF working in the municipality could not prove to the officials that the owner of the stadium is not the federation, but the municipality. In addition, despite various ways of collaboration being proposed and the repeated statement that UEFA does not allow the designated money for stadium reconstruction to be used as support, municipal officials remained stubborn.
"The official response of the Kaunas city municipality to the LFF proposal for cooperation, repeatedly proposing a completely unacceptable form of cooperation for the LFF, cannot be interpreted otherwise than a clear refusal to cooperate with the LFF," commented the lawyers.
The leaders of the LFF remember the times when the Lithuanian Football Federation had already allocated 2 million for the reconstruction of the S.Darius and S.Girėnas Stadium. Unfortunately, although the money was "absorbed," only about half of the planned seats were installed in the stands.
"In Kaunas, we have already invested about 20 million litas. Kaunas is the only city in Lithuania with a National Football Academy with a well-developed infrastructure. We not only built a sports base where professionals and amateurs can train from early morning until late evening at any time of the year, but also improved the areas belonging to the city - Vileišis Square, a monument dedicated to the Song Festival, entrances, and parking lots," said L.Varanavičius - "This mayor's leap is irresponsible and discredits not only him but the entire municipal institution."
Comment by lawyer Linas Jakas on the statement of the Kaunas city municipality:
Regarding the refusal of the Kaunas city municipality to invest in the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium:
it should be noted that in the press release of the Kaunas city municipality, indicating that the LFF is spreading lies by claiming that they refused to invest, it fails to mention that the Kaunas city municipality itself rejected all proposed options by LFF representatives for possible cooperation in the reconstruction of the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, citing that the proposed options were too risky for the municipality, and therefore, as the only form of cooperation, suggesting possible LFF assistance to the Kaunas city municipality.
However, at the same meeting of the Kaunas city municipality, where assistance was suggested from the municipality, as a form of cooperation, all commission members were immediately informed that the assistance, as a form of cooperation, was not suitable for LFF.
Therefore, the official response of the Kaunas city municipality to the LFF proposal for cooperation, repeatedly suggesting an entirely unacceptable form of cooperation for the LFF, should be interpreted as a clear refusal to cooperate with the LFF.
Regarding the alleged obligation of the LFF to provide a technical stadium reconstruction project:
in the statement, it is claimed that the LFF promised to prepare a technical project with its own funds, but did nothing about it. This statement does not correspond to the actual factual situation. Firstly, it should be noted that after the aforementioned meeting in the Kaunas city municipality, where possible methods of cooperation between LFF and the Kaunas city municipality were discussed, it was determined that in order to ensure that the stadium reconstruction would be completed by the specified deadline, the design process needed to start immediately.
Thus, it was decided during the meeting that the stadium director would immediately address the Kaunas city municipality with a request for the drafting of conditions for the planned stadium reconstruction, and the representatives of the Kaunas city municipality assured that the municipality, as the owner of the stadium, upon receiving such a request, would prepare the terms of the design without delay, without which the preparation of the technical project is impossible.
In addition, the Kaunas branch of the Department of Cultural Heritage, responding to the LFF's request for information on the conditions under which the planned reconstruction of the stadium as a cultural heritage could be planned, also indicated that the conditions for designing must be obtained by the Kaunas city municipality itself, as the owner of the object to be reconstructed.
Secondly, as an association, the LFF does not have the ability to prepare a technical project itself, as this is a licensed activity.
Therefore, claims about LFF's alleged obligation to prepare a technical project are incorrect.
Thirdly, LFF representatives stated at the meeting that if the Kaunas city municipality were to prepare the terms for design, then LFF could negotiate with architects to prepare the stadium reconstruction project for the municipality free of charge.
Therefore, the statements of the Kaunas city municipality about LFF's alleged obligation to prepare a technical project are incorrect, and contrary to what is stated in the municipality's press release, the Kaunas city municipality did nothing to start the implementation of the preparatory works for the planned reconstruction project.
Linas Jakas Attorney, Attorney-at-law
