Background information

This is a support program for COVID-19 crisis-affected businesses - owners, legal possessors and tenants of sports centres - to compensate for the decline in turnover of sports centres owned, managed or leased by them. The measure is suggested by the Ministry of Economics. The measure is introduced with the Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 277 “On support for COVID-19 crisis-affected sports centres" adopted on 25 May 2021.

Content of measure

This measure is a grant awarded to an entrepreneur to compensate for a fall in the turnover of a sports centre owned, operated or leased by him to cover operating costs (utilities, including electricity, water and heat, rental of immovable property, commitment payments, including credit payments and outsourcing costs) from 1 December 2020 to 31 December 2021. Sports centres are considered to be indoor sports facilities - fitness centres, sports clubs, gyms, ice rinks, public swimming pools and Olympic sports centres with a total indoor area of over 500 m2.

The aid is available to an entrepreneur who, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, has a total drop in turnover of at least 60% in a given sports centre in one of the following periods:

• comparing the total turnover of December 2020 and January, February, March, April and May 2021 with the total turnover of October, November, December 2019 and January, February, March 2020;
• comparing the total turnover for January, February, March, April and May 2021 with the total turnover for July, August, September, October and November 2020.

The support is one-time payment - €25 for each square meter of the total area indicated in the sports centre indoor cadastral survey file, except for leased office space and trade premises for commercial activities, the total amount of support not exceeding the amount of turnover decrease.

The state budget funding available under the support measure is €8 million.

Use of measure

85 sports centres have applied for the support in total amount of €6.9 million.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No involvement.

Views and reactions

Social partners have not expressed views on this measure.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 14 May 2021: Atbalsts sporta centriem Covid-19 krīzes seku pārvarēšanai (LIAA home page) (www.liaa.gov.lv)
• 25 May 2021: Noteikumi par atbalstu Covid-19 krīzes skartajiem sporta centriem (likumi.lv)
• 05 July 2021: 109 tirdzniecības un sporta centri pieteikušies valsts atbalstam 16,7 miljonu eiro apmērā (www.lsm.lv)