The Zalgiris Group plans for Darius and Girenas stadium and Kaunas sports hall: world-famous artists, competitions, and spaces for city residents

Zalgiris Group plans to apply their experience from managing the Zalgiris arena to the Kaunas Darius and Girenas stadium and Kaunas sports hall. Negotiations with the Lithuanian Football Federation regarding the games of the Lithuanian national team in the stadium are in progress. Also, there are concerts of world-famous artists planned. It is expected to move a part of the events from Zalgiris arena.

This Friday, Zalgiris Group has signed a contract with Kaunas city municipality for the management of Darius and Girenas stadium for 15 upcoming years. Representatives of Zalgiris Group are already planning concerts of famous artists and sports events in the stadium and the arena for a few upcoming years. They emphasize that both the hall and the stadium will not be for mass events only – residents of Kaunas will also be able to do sports and spend their free time there.

Events to be moved from Zalgiris Arena

According to the contract, the Zalgiris Group company will be the operator of the Darius and Girenas stadium and Kaunas sports hall for 15 years. During this period, it will pay almost 5 million euros of concession rent for the Kaunas city municipality – 324,000 euros per year.

“Kaunas has shown that it is possible to build a high-quality stadium economically and relatively fast. I believe that our city will demonstrate the same with this concession agreement and choosing the operator that will take care of further development of the object. In this case, instead of paying for its management, the city will be getting revenue to the budget,” – says Visvaldas Matijosaitis, the mayor of Kaunas.

Zalgiris Group will also have to fulfill other obligations, including taking care of the environment and creating an activity grid. One of the main criteria for maintenance will be the hall occupancy – most of the Kaunas sports hall events will be dedicated to informal education.

“By organizing hundreds of concerts, games, and other events in the Zalgiris arena, Zalgiris Arena pool and Kaunas Ice Palace, we have gained a lot of experience and have built relationships with various sports organizations and federations. Now we want to apply our knowledge and experience to the Darius and Girenas stadium and Kaunas sports hall, and to create conditions for Kaunas city residents and guests to enjoy top-level events,” – says Saulius Balnanosis, the Zalgiris Group representative who will be leading the stadium and the hall.

Kaunas Arena has been managing Zalgiris Arena since 2011. Its main hall is visited by almost 900,000 people and hosts 140 events per year. Zalgiris Arena hosted the European Basketball Championship in 2011, the Euroleague’s Final Four last year, and European Figure Skating Championship this year. Many famous artists held their concerts in the arena – from Elton John to Red Hot Chili Peppers, 50 Cent, Ramstein, and Dua Lipa.

According to S. Balnanosis, the grid of Zalgiris Arena is overloaded, so a part of the concerts is planned to be moved to Kaunas sports hall. In Kaunas sports hall it is planned to set up restaurants, changing rooms, and other spaces needed by athletes. What events will take place in Kaunas sports hall, which was renovated in 2022 and accommodates up to 2,500 visitors, will be announced shortly.

Spaces for city residents

According to S. Balnanosis, mass events are being actively planned at the Darius and Girenas stadium as well – the occupancy grid is being arranged for the year 2025.

At the stadium, the game between Lithuania and Gibraltar national football teams will take place on February 26. On May 16-19 – Baltic Student Olympic Games SELL. The Kaunas Zalgiris football club will play most of its home games in the Darius and Girenas football arena.

According to S. Balnanosis, a successful discussions are happening now with the Lithuanian football federation about the opportunity to host even more games of the Lithuania national football team. Also, there are talks with world-famous artists. As announced earlier, Ed Sheeran, the world-famous British star, will be performing at the stadium in August.

At the stadium, which was completed to reconstruct in 2022 and can hold 15,000 people, Zalgiris Group has planned a restaurant that will be open not only during events, a cafe, and bars. A few companies will settle in the modern stadium offices of 3,200 m2.

S. Balnanosis points out that Kaunas city residents at both the stadium and the hall will not only be able to watch games and attend concerts, but to do sports and recreational activities themselves.

“The Darius and Girenas stadium and the Kaunas sports hall will be dedicated to wellness, informal education, and recreational purposes. The hall will have an open reservation system, which will let anyone book spaces for badminton, volleyball, basketball, indoor football, tennis, and other activities”, says S. Balnanosis.

Kaunas city residents will also be able to do sports and spend their free time in 5 new modern tennis courts located next to the stadium.

With the new stadium, the Zalgiris organization already manages five infrastructure objects in Kaunas: Zalgiris arena, its pool, and the Ice Palace. According to S. Balnanosis, one of the main company priorities is innovative solutions, which would let visitors enjoy events even more.

In the Zalgiris arena, the automated ForgetBill solution was implemented last year, which lets customers take food without the help of waiters. Instead of standing and waiting in queues, customers can order food in 45 seconds.

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