Latvian Arenas

[Vandalay Industries]

Is there a Latvian fan here, who could tell me how many Latvian hockey rinks there are actually?

On The IIHF website there they have updated the number from 19 indoor arenas to 24 since their last update in 2021. Back then they raised it from 16 to 19. Since 2012 when I started to keep a record of this they have had a listing of 17, 16, 17, 17, 19, 16, 16, 16, 19, 19 and now 24.

It seems wrong to me that five new rinks apparently have been built over the past couple of years, but I bet someone on here might know exactly what is right?

How many are there, and how many of them are actually being used for developing hockey players?

By the way: Lithuania's number has also been raised, but "only" from 7 to 9. That seems more plausible, since Dainius Zubrus has been working hard as a president to get more rinks.

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[GX]

I'll try to quickly list all of them because the figure changes depending on how you count them. Yes, several new ones have been built recently, including two notable ones (Rezekne, Jekabpils) which have increased the geographical coverage of rinks in Latvia. Arguably all of them are used mainly for ice hockey. Absolute majority have their own hockey schools.

So, based on the list below, if you ask me, I would say there are 21 indoor rinks + Arena Riga. And then there are the four 'rinks' I wouldn't count. Which of them made the IIHF list? I can only guess.

Riga:
Daugavas stadiona halle (2 rinks, built in 2021)
Volvo halle (3 rinks)
Rīgas 55. vidusskola
Kurbads ledus halle (built in 2017)
Mogo ledus halle
Arena Riga (only gets ice a couple of weeks a year now that Dinamo is defunct)

Central Latvia:
Jelgavas ledus halle
Marupes ledus halle (2017)
Vidzemes ledus halle
Ozo ledus halle
Inbox.lv ledus halle
Valmieras ledus halle

Western Latvia:
Brocenu ledus halle
Tukuma ledus halle
Liepajas ledus halle
Ventspils ledus hale

Eastern Latvia:
Daugavpils ledus halle
Rezeknes ledus halle (2020)
Jekabpils ledus halle (2020)

Some ice skating places that I wouldn't count as rinks (as they are significantly smaller than a standard ice hockey rink), yet are members of the ice rink association of Latvia. However, even they are used for ice hockey practice:
Akropole Riga (2019)
Talsu ledus halle
Olaines slidotava (outdoor)
Majoru halle (defunct for some 2-3 years, yet still listed as a member)