According to Tallinn Deputy Mayor Monika Haukanõmm, renovation work is currently underway at Kadriorg Stadium, prompted by the fact that the stadium is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

"Of course, we would have liked the entire renovation of Kadriorg Stadium to have been completed this year, but it is what it is," Haukanõmm said.

Former Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski of the Social Democratic Party signed the contract with the builder in early September of last year.

"The largest construction project currently underway is the construction of the new, so-called B building. The B building now being constructed will contain facilities for athletes and coaches. It will include training areas, training rooms, conference and office space, a doping control room and facilities such as gyms. If everything goes according to plan, the B building should be completed by August of this year," Haukanõmm said.

Plans call for the B building to be connected to the main building by a tunnel and a football field will also be built alongside the B building.

"That is the second phase, which will be built next to the current track and field practice area. By building this football field, we want to ease the usage load and improve training conditions. We want the new full-size football field to be able to host both training sessions and competitions that meet UEFA requirements," Haukanõmm said.

For the football field, the city's goal is to be able to host large-scale tournaments and matches in the Premium Liiga and it will be accompanied by a grandstand with about 1,000 seats.

"If the B building is completed by the end of this summer, then the football field and grandstand should be completed by the spring-summer period of next year," the deputy mayor said.

"The third phase, which we are not yet carrying out but which will follow, is the main grandstand and the track and field arena, meaning the renovation of the existing infrastructure. The goal is really to modernize everything somewhat and make it more comfortable for both athletes and spectators," Haukanõmm said.

Because the main building is under heritage protection, the building's architectural appearance will remain the same.

"But we really want to restore everything both inside and out, modernize it and improve media facilities and training functions. As for the main grandstand and the track and field arena, those could be completed in January 2028. That is because we want to host the European Junior Track and Field Championships there in the summer of 2028," Haukanõmm said.

A new spectator grandstand will be built opposite the main grandstand, on the Kadriorg side.

"The goal is for it to hold around 5,000 spectators in the future. If everything goes well, then by the spring of 2028 everything should be finished and looking good," the deputy mayor said.

Renovation work does away with some of the stadium's greenery

Some local residents are concerned because they have noticed that 10 or more tall trees have been cut down during construction work on Kadriorg Stadium. The trees were located on the Lasnamäe side of the stadium grounds, on a rise away from the current main stadium, directly next to the stadium fence. Several of the trees appear to have had rotting trunks, but there are also trees that appear healthy.

Haukanõmm said she does not know exactly how many trees have been cut down, but said that some of the felled trees were diseased.

"I cannot say exactly at the moment how many of those trees have been removed or whether many have been removed. I would estimate around 10. What I do know is that in the case of the stadium grounds, we discussed very carefully which trees might be in the way and what their condition was. Many of the trees are no longer young and some of them are diseased," Haukanõmm said.

Haukanõmm added that it is also true that in order to hold various competitions and training sessions at the stadium, facilities such as sawdust running tracks need to be built.

"But what I can confirm is that permission is not given lightly to cut down any tree. For every tree, it is either already clearly stated in the project whether it may be removed or specialists from the city's Environment and Public Utilities Department have to assess it. I want to believe that this has been taken very seriously because we know that every tree is accounted for and very important," Haukanõmm said.

The deputy mayor said she does not know whether additional trees will be cut down during the stadium construction.

Construction of the stadium will cost €17.1 million excluding value-added tax and the work is being carried out by Nordlin Ehitus OÜ, which won the public procurement contract.

Under separate procurement contracts, the track and field training arena was renovated by 2021, while by spring 2023 the lighting for the stadium arenas had been upgraded and the stadium's electrical system improved.

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