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"The millennium fireworks will not shine over the Šeškinė Stadium," the Vilnius supplement "Sostinė" announces to the residents of the city on Saturday. According to the newspaper, there will be no Millennium Stadium in the capital. The city authorities admit that it will not be possible to complete the construction of the Šeškinė Stadium by 2009, when Vilnius will host events related to the millennium celebration of the name of Lithuania, the European Capital of Culture events, and the World Lithuanian Youth Song and Dance Festival. It is said that even if the stadium were to be started immediately, it would most likely have to be called the Thousand and One Year Stadium. The municipality, along with the Government, planned to build a National Stadium in Šeškinė by 2009 and to grant the arena the name of the Millennium Stadium. This stadium has even been designated as an object of national importance, and its construction is included in the Government's program for 2006-2008. However, the Government decided not to allocate funds to the project worth 200 million litas for now. "Last week, there was a meeting with the Prime Minister's adviser Jūratė Juozaitienė, in which representatives of the Ministry of Finance also participated. At the meeting, we were informed that it is unlikely to build such an object using the country's budget funds," said Linas Naujokaitis, the director of the City Development Department, to "Sostinė." "I don't want to be a pessimist, but I don't see a possibility to complete the stadium by 2009," said Naujokaitis. "Building a stadium with seating for 25 thousand spectators is a huge task. It is difficult to imagine how it is possible to implement such a project without errors and solve financing problems in such a short time. The article in "Lietuvos rytas" also states that the "Žalgiris" Stadium will not be renovated by 2009."
