Ice palaces construction to be continued in Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

Ice palaces construction is to be continued in Belarus in the towns with around 100 thousand population. This was declared by A. Lukashenka at the meeting considering the issue of participation of the Belarusian hockey team at the championship of Russia.

Presently 10 ice palaces have been erected in Belarus. None of them is subsidized by the state, they are self recouped, Lukashenka stressed. “These are normal projects in terms of the economy”, he said.

Lukashenka also declared that the Belarusian state spends considerable sums on the sports. Over Br 60 billion were spent on development of the hockey in 2006. “No other states “openly” invests such money”, he declared.

The Belarusian ruler ambiguously estimates prospects of the Belarusian hockey team participation in the higher hockey league of Russia. According to the head of the state, the issue of the Belarusian hockey team participation in the Russian championship has been discussed by the hockey public. There are many “for”, others, both ordinary fans and experts, object. On the one hand, participation in the championship of Russia will improve the Belarusian hockey team skills; on the other hand, it may decrease the level of attention to the Belarusian republican tournaments. Lukashenka stressed that today the viewpoints of all the parties concerned will be analyzed in detail at the meeting.