OREANDA-NEWS. February 19, 2008. If Latvia is given the right to host the Ice Hockey World Championship again in 2014, another arena will be built in Riga, as the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (LHF) President Kirovs Lipmans said in an interview to the newspaper "Dienas Bizness".

"I believe that the state together with the City of Riga would have to build the arena," Lipmans said, adding, "If it does not happen though, we will build the arena anyway, this I guarantee."

In Lipmans' opinion, Latvia has at least an 80 percent chance of being selected as the host for the 2014 championship. "Our main advantage is the fact that we successfully organized the championship in 2006, people at the International Ice Hockey Federation still remember that," Lipmans said. "The championship in Riga is even considered to have been better organized than that in the Czech Republic," he explained.

The Czech Republic is another contender for the right to host the 2014 championship. It is possible that Latvia and the Czech Republic will hold talks to decide which of them will vie for the right. 2014 is not a goal in and of itself, Latvia may just as well organize the championship in 2015, Lipmans said.

Lipmans explains that a new arena must be constructed in Riga, because one arena is not enough for hosting the championship. This time the "Skonto" arena could not be revamped for the championship's needs, as was the case in 2006, Lipmans said.

"We will not do it anymore. The International Federation demands normal arenas," Lipmans said. "Today, I cannot invite the Canadians, for instance, to play in Liepaja, Ventspils or Pinki arena, that's not serious. "Arena Riga" is a very good arena, but it is booked up almost a year in advance for various concerts and suchlike," Lipmans explains.

Scandals regarding construction of a new arena in Riga and organization of the championship in 2006 was a bitter experience, Lipmans admits. "Remembering all that, I would never want to organize another championship, but then premier [Aigars Kalvitis], who I respect very much, came to me and said, Kirov, let's try to get the world championship over here one more time."

Now the new arena would have to be built by the state or the Riga City Council.

"I would like to ask the government, what has the state built for sports in the past several years? Mostly it is local governments that build facilities with money underwritten by the state," Lipmans said.

Commenting on the 2006 championship, Lipmans admits, "Of course, we made many mistakes, but only because we were doing it for the first time. If we organize the championship again, I believe that we will not make the same mistakes, moreover, we will make money, and quite much of it."