All three cities seeking to host the multifunctional arena submitted applications to the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK) by the September 1 deadline.

More specifically, Pärnu, Tallinn and Tartu submitted proposed locations along with additional documentation, allowing the bids to now be compared, EOK multifunctional arena project manager Helen Veermäe told ERR.

"The aim is to ensure that all potential locations are assessed on a comparable basis and, above all, according to their substantive characteristics and potential," she said.

Tallinn proposed the Ülemiste freight terminal area as the location for the arena. Pärnu's preferred site is near the future Rail Baltica terminal, in Veterans Park next to Papiniidu Bridge on the banks of the Pärnu River. The City of Tartu has reserved a plot of land for the arena on Roosi tänav, near the Estonian National Museum.

The selection process will now begin. In May, the EOK and the Ministry of Culture formed an expert committee that will oversee the selection process and ultimately submit a recommendation, together with its reasoning, to the government.

As a first step, however, the expert committee will soon select an independent expert to conduct an economic impact analysis, Veermäe said.

"The independent expert selected will prepare a comparative economic impact analysis based on the materials submitted by the cities, gather additional data where necessary and conduct interviews with representatives of the cities and other key stakeholders," she said.

Once the expert committee has approved the expert who will conduct the analysis, the economic impact analysis will take approximately three months to complete. The expert committee will then prepare a summary and submit its recommendation on the most suitable location to the government, Veermäe said.

The government will make the final decision on which city the arena will ultimately be built in. Once that decision has been made, it will also become clear when construction could begin and when the arena could be completed.

The EOK began the arena project's preparatory phase last November. Among other things, representatives have visited Finland to study the business model of a multifunctional arena.

Plans for the arena began to be pursued more seriously after Estonia secured the right to host the 2029 European Basketball Championship. Estonia's largest indoor arena at present is Tallinn's Unibet Arena, which can accommodate up to 7,000 spectators.

The government is currently discussing next year's state budget and the state budget strategy for the next four years. Economy Minister Erkki Keldo told "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Tuesday that some investments will have to be dropped in order to reduce the budget deficit.

"We will also have to drop investments that might have been possible in better times — buildings and other construction projects. We cannot afford them when such a large share is going toward defense investments," Keldo said. Estonia aims to spend at least 5 percent of its GDP on national defense in the coming years.

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