Linnahall shooting range in Tallinn could cost millions to make work
Tallinn has offered Linnahall's former ice rink to the Estonian Defense League (EDL) for a temporary shooting range, but experts say repairs could cost millions.
Tallinn Deputy Mayor and EDL member Kristjan Järvan said the city had consulted two shooting range operators before pitching the proposal. He estimated the initial investment needed to convert the space at about €500,000.
"At least 55-meter shooting ranges could be built here, right inside the ice rink," Järvan said.
He argued the project could turn the largely unused concrete structure into a useful defense asset at a relatively modest cost. The Estonian Center for Defense Investments (ECDI) and EDL would ultimately decide whether to pursue it.
"Tallinn just sees this as an additional option we can offer," the deputy mayor added.
Järvan previously said the range would be temporary, operating until the city decides on a longer-term future for the long-neglected venue.
Fellow EDL member and Tondi shooting range owner Tõnis Orumaa said the former ice rink could work particularly well for tactical shooting because its open layout would allow firing in multiple directions.
"You've got a full-sized ice hockey arena, so you could fire across 180 degrees," he explained, adding that in traditional ranges, targets are all in one place at the far end.
But the rink would first have to be cleared out and its leaking roof made watertight, followed by ongoing maintenance costs. Orumaa estimated that renovating the roof alone could cost about €3 million.
Money would stretch further elsewhere
He noted that the EDL's Rapla District, meanwhile, is currently headquartered in a small space, while the Järva District is operating out of the Türi Subdistrict's facilities.
"For that money, we could build three district support centers," Orumaa said.
The same investment could also fund two or three comparable shooting ranges elsewhere in the country instead, he added.
The EDL already has a shooting complex near Tallinn, while the Estonian Defense Forces' (EDF) Central Training Area still offers the best training conditions.
The ice rink at Tallinn's Soviet-era Linnahall venue complex closed in 2009 and has remained unused since then. Whether the EDL wants to take on the building alongside its other priorities remains to be decided
--
Editor: Johanna Alvin, Aili Vahtla
