Over the past two years, the subsidiary of Latvian Railways (Latvijas Dzelzceļš) – LDZ Cargo has concluded advertising contracts with two basketball clubs. The total value of the deals nears half a million lats (about 943 000 dollars).

No contractual details are revealed, but it is known that last year LDZ Cargo entered into an agreement on advertising services with the basketball club Ventspils – 271 098 lats (511 505 dollars). This year the deal was sealed with VEF Rīga – 200 000 lats (377 358 dollars), reports Latvian Television broadcast De Facto.

LDZ Cargo concluded the agreement with Ventspils, whose president is the party For Latvia and Ventspils Chairman – Aivars Lembergs, while the board consists of Ventspils city council management. No tender was announced for the deal.

Ventspils club Board Chairman Ralfs Pleinics told the broadcast that “professional sport is impossible without support from the state.” The advertising costs are impressive, but it is not really clear what exactly has been purchased. Pleinics explains that advertising contracts and costs are developed individually.

Interestingly enough, along with changes in the political leadership, advertising in Ventspils was no longer necessary. Now when Unity and Olsteins’ group of six independent parliamentarians are in charge of the transport sector, the focus falls on the basketball club VEF Rīga. Its Board Chairman is Unity’s member – Edgars Jaunups. The Minister of Transport Aivis Ronis gave his consent to the recent deal of 200 000 lats.

LDZ Cargo representative Antra Birzule believes that the public company benefits from purchasing advertising via the basketball club. She says this can be seen in its turnover and profit. Although the company works both in Latvia and abroad, mainly towards the east, Birzule does not disclose whether investments in advertising are equal in all regions. Neither does she reveal why the exact basketball clubs were chosen.

According to VEF Riga, LDZ Cargo pays for advertising services provided during basketball games. The emphasis is put on international tournaments – Euroleague Qualifying, European Cup and VTB United League.

“Advertising during these tournaments is quite exclusive. No other Latvian club can offer that,” says the club’s director Laila Spaliņa.

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