On Tuesday, January 10, DELFI, the most modern multifunctional sports center in the region, opened its doors to sports professionals, amateurs and active leisure enthusiasts in Vilnius. The complex, which accommodates badminton, tennis, beach tennis and beach volleyball courts under one roof, is located next to the "Vichy" water amusement park, On Oz Street. This is the first center of its kind to be built in Lithuania during the 26 years of Independence, meeting the highest international standards of sports federations.
The 4500-square-meter sports complex was built and equipped in a record-breaking time - just 7 months. The sports center has 8 badminton courts, 4 beach volleyball and beach tennis courts, 2 tennis courts. A universal training space of more than 400 square meters has also been created. The expansion of the sports center has already been planned - this year, 4 additional open beach volleyball courts will be installed near the complex. The total investment in the sports center amounts to more than 3 million. euros.
As stated by the mayor of the city of Vilnius who gave a welcome speech at the opening Remigius Šimašius, the opening of the DELFI sports center is an extraordinary event in Vilnius. "We are opening a not quite traditional sports center in the capital. There are no basketball courts or other attributes typical of regular sports centers - instead, there is badminton and tennis. It is very good that lesser-known sports gathered here. We have sports that are mostly played outdoors, but Lithuania's climate is such that we need opportunities to play sports indoors as well. This sports center will fill a gap in the city, as the level of sports infrastructure needs to be raised. This is perhaps the biggest gap in Vilnius," the capital's mayor addressed the audience.
The equipment of the multi-purpose center meets the highest global standards, the installation of badminton and tennis playing fields is coordinated with international sports federations. Therefore, the DELFI sports center will start actively in its first year of operation - dozens of various events are planned here, including international tournaments, competitions, championships. Events from the sports arena will be broadcast live on a special DELFI TV channel.
"In sports terms, we are celebrating a huge victory today. As soon as we learned about this opportunity, we were immediately interested. Badminton, beach volleyball are rapidly becoming popular sports in Lithuania. We believe that soon they will become even more established in our society. The academies located under this roof, in this excellent environment, will help to raise several generations of athletes. From DELFI's side, we promise to pay due attention and airtime to these sports, thereby contributing to the popularization of sports and sports in general in Lithuania," said Vytautas Benokraitis, director of DELFI.
The first athletes flooded the center a week before the official opening day - on the second of January. "Assessing the first results, I can confidently say that the sports center decorated with the DELFI logo is already becoming an important part of the active leisure time of Vilnius residents, a sports beacon in the city, where movement and a healthy lifestyle are becoming an increasingly important part of every citizen's life," said Ieva Šemberienė, the manager of the sports center at the opening. According to her, training, tournament and competition schedules are already planned months in advance.
The complex is expected to receive about 250 thousand visitors a year and will become a center of attraction not only for fans of badminton, tennis, beach tennis and beach volleyball, but also for lovers of active recreation. "Get Fit" functional training of the sports academy will take place at the DELFI sports base. Beach volleyball couple Monika Povilaitytė and Karolė Virbickaitė will also train there, and famous athletes of the country will train.
The sports community appreciated the private initiative to popularize volleyball, tennis and badminton and contribute to the development of these sports in Lithuania. The DELFI Sports Center won the "Sports Infrastructure Object of the Year" award at the Lithuanian Sports Management Awards.
The center, which has not yet been completed, has also attracted the attention of international organizations. Badminton Europe representatives visited it in mid-November. They assessed whether the multifunctional sports center opening its doors in Vilnius could become a base for preparing badminton players from all over Europe for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The "Badminton Europe" organization will make its decision regarding the international training center for badminton players in Vilnius this winter. Having reached the final stage, Vilnius is currently competing with Tallinn.
Vichy Water Park, which administers the complex, allocated a plot for this structure. The construction work of the sports center was carried out by the company "Axis Power" and the real estate project development company "Realco". The author of the complex project is the company Tiksli forma.
