Oleksandr Svishchov, a Ukrainian businessman and president of the Ukrainian Water Polo Federation, told in an interview how the idea of building a sports and entertainment center “LEOLAND“sports and entertainment center in Lviv.
– Mr. Oleksandr, you are the main investor and ideological inspirer of the construction of the sports and entertainment center “LEOLAND” in Lviv. Tell us how you came up with the idea of building a center that combines active recreation and professional training in various sports?
– I would like to recall the history of this place, where the currentLEOLAND complex is located. All Lviv residents remember well that there used to be a sports complex called Ukraina, which had six open-air ground tennis courts and two covered courts. Tennis competitions were held in that complex, but not as often as the tennis community would like. The infrastructure was already quite outdated, and it was impossible to hold Ukrainian championships or international competitions. For a long time, there has been a great demand from the sports community for the restoration of this sports complex in Lviv. The city and regional authorities of Lviv also made such a request. I’m a person who loves sports with all my heart, and I’ve always had sports projects in my life: soccer, water polo. Therefore, when the financial opportunity arose and the question of investing in the restoration of the Ukraina sports complex arose, I accepted this challenge. Together with the team and the Lviv tennis community, we discussed the concept of the complex for a long time. The task was to build modern and cool tennis courts where you can play tennis all year round. We have been implementing this ambitious idea for almost five years, which is how long the reconstruction of the complex took. And now it’s been a year since the LEOLAND complex has been open to visitors. In addition to tennis, we included various types of activities in the concept of the complex, so that every little visitor could find something he or she likes. There are classes in preschool education: chemistry and physics, and kids can take their first steps in football, tennis, and dance.
(Pictured on the right: Maksym Kozytskyi, Head of Lviv Regional State Administration, next – Vadym Gutzeit, President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, in the center – Oleksandr Svishchov, investor of the LEOLAND complex, on the left – Roman Khimak, Head of the Youth and Sports Department of Lviv Regional State Administration)
– Alexander Yurievich, it is a difficult time for Ukraine, with a full-scale war going on. This factor discourages international investors, including Ukrainian ones, from building and investing in new projects, especially sports ones. Still, you were not afraid to open the LEOLAND SRC at such a difficult time for the country?
– The opening of theLEOLANDcomplex really took place at a very difficult time for Ukraine. The war has created a great deal of uncertainty in the lives of every Ukrainian about where to go and how to live. However, our Armed Forces stood up to defend the state and keep us hopeful that everything will be fine, that we will defeat the enemy. Therefore, I decided to open the complex in such a difficult time. This is also a kind of signal from business that we live, develop sports and invest in our children, who are the future of this country. I was convinced thatLEOLANDwould become a place where children’s laughter could be heard, where kids and parents could switch from the hard realities of war for a while. Together with the team, we made the right decision to open the complex during the full-scale invasion. There is a shelter here, and in case of an air raid, the children are in a safe place.
– During the year of operation of the sports and entertainment complex “
LEOLAND
” sports and entertainment center, how many major tennis tournaments and competitions have you organized?
– Now I can say that we are making good progress and are confidently moving forward in the education of young tennis players. Children began to take up the sport en masse, and the complex has a school for the youngest tennis players called LeoSport. There are big tennis tournaments every month. We have already managed to hold Ukrainian championships among children and adults, which have not been held in Lviv for more than a decade. I think this is a big breakthrough. For me personally, it is very valuable that children in Lviv have fallen in love with tennis in a new and even stronger way, I see this enthusiasm in their eyes during competitions, these are invaluable emotions. Young coaches have a good base for training athletes, and children have the opportunity to develop and glorify our country in the international arena in the future. I believe that sports are very important in the life of every person, especially children. Every little Ukrainian should study the history and culture of our rich country and develop in sports. These are the pillars of a successful country and a healthy society.
– What does the project LEOLAND?
– You know, to some extent, this is my childhood dream. A dream that was missing in my childhood. At that time, sports could be practiced mostly on the street, and I wanted to go to a modern sports complex. So, I wanted to realize the idea of a center where children can play sports, develop creatively, go dancing, draw and spend time actively. I believe that today Lviv has another great place for the active development of children. We are glad to see every visitor and look forward to seeing everyone who has not yet been toLEOLAND.
Natalia Bodnya, head of the Lviv branch of the Ukrainian Tennis Federation, also speaks about the importance of new tennis courts and a new impetus for the development of tennis. The expert notes that over the past year alone, interest in tennis in the city has increased by forty percent.
– Ms. Natalia, you can often be seen in “
LEOLAND” both in competitions and during training. To what extent did the opening of the complex increase interest in tennis among Lviv residents?
– You know, it is a very significant event for Lviv and for me personally that the city has a modern tennis complex – indoor courts with a modern hard surface. The new complex allowed us to practice tennis and hold tournaments all year round. Previously, many children attended classes only in the summer when the weather was good, and then gave up the sport due to the lack of proper facilities and courts. Now that we have this opportunity, there is a 40 percent increase in interest in tennis in the city.
– Today in “
LEOLAND
“There are almost always tennis competitions for different age groups. What are the successes of the athletes, including those from Lviv?
– This year, since the tennis courts atLEOLANDhave been in operation, a lot of competitions have indeed taken place. In December 2022, we managed to hold the Ukrainian championships among youth and adults. In my memory, this has never happened in Lviv. Even when I was practicing professionally, we were always forced to visit other cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv. From a financial point of view, it was very difficult for the children and their parents, because the long travel and expenses for participation in tournaments were enormous. And now we have a wonderful complex in Lviv, and the logistics issue has been greatly simplified for our athletes. Now we can say that Lviv is, to a certain extent, becoming a tennis capital of sports. We are gaining momentum in the competitions and, most importantly, we see that there is a great interest among children to play tennis.
– Now we can also note the fact that in the age categories under 12, 14, and 16 there are representatives of Lviv who play in the national teams of Ukraine. This is very pleasant and at the same time motivates me even more to train more athletes who will represent Ukraine in international competitions. I would like to thank the investor of theLEOLANDsports complex (ed. Oleksandr Svishchov), who not only invested in the construction of the courts, but also constantly supports Lviv tennis players. One of the winners of the Ukrainian championships, Polina Kuznetsova from Lviv, was awarded a subscription to free tennis lessons atLEOLANDfor the whole year. Such gifts and actions from the management of the complex, of course, motivate and inspire our young people to new victories.
TheLEOLANDcomplex has a school for young children called LeoSport. The kids have been playing tennis since they were three years old. The club currently employs seven professional coaches. Olena Bulachek, head of the LEOSPORTtennis school and senior coach, told us how this year they managed to develop tennis lessons among the youngest visitors to the school.
– Ms. Olena, you work as a head coach and teach tennis to the youngest athletes at the school. Tell us how much demand and interest there is among children in tennis?
– Both children of all ages and adult visitors are welcome. Our youngest athletes are only three years old and they are already learning how to hold a racket in their hands. In turn, we instill in them a love of tennis and teach them the basics of the sport. So far this year, 130 people have already enrolled in the LEOSPORT school, and this is a very high figure. These are our visitors who regularly play tennis with coaches. We are constantly enrolling children in school, and I think there will be even more of them in the near future.
– Children in the city are becoming more and more interested in this sport every month. Every weekend atLEOLAND, we hold tournaments for both kids and older athletes under the age of 16. We will finish this tennis year 2023 with the Ukrainian Senior Cup. For those who are hesitant and have not yet held a racket in their hands, come, we will be happy to teach you how to play tennis. The doors of our school are open to everyone and at any age.
