RIGA -- Multihalle has announced that it had reached an "agreement on an agreement" with a union formed by five Latvian construction companies, transferring the right to build facilities for the ice hockey world championships to the group.
The decision made by Multihalle, the company that originally won the tender for the job, to step back from the project represents a major development in a business saga that had placed Latvia's ability to host the 2006 championships in jeopardy. In the past months, delays and disputes between Multihalle, the construction company Merks, Latvia's Hockey Federation and the Riga City Council created tension as it became unclear if the Baltic country would be prepared for the World Ice Hockey Championships.
Riga City Council will now hold consultations with the government to assess which of two possible locations -- Skanstes Street or the Lucavsala peninsula -- would best suit the ice-hall, according to city development head Andris Ameriks.
Multihalle CEO Ivars Kalviskis told reporters that, over the next few days, lawyers would draft documents on transferring the ice-hall documentation to the union of construction companies.
