Eduard Sharmazanov says no casino will open at Karen Demirchyan Concert and Sports Complex

 Eduard Sharmazanov, Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament told reporters after a meeting of the Republican Party Board that no casino will open at the Karen Demirchyan Concert and Sports Complex or near it.

"As a citizen of Yerevan I share the concerns over the fate of this complex so dear to the citizens.  Nevertheless, I think these concerns and views of some intellectuals and specialists come from insufficient information supply. A 100-million-dollars-strong investment will bring new spirit to Yerevan and new developments opportunities to the Complex," he said.

 According to a Yerevan-based Haykakan Zhamanak Daily, the real buyers of Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Facility are Vacheh Ghazaryan, the chief of the president's guard, and Vardan Ayvazyan, a Republican parliamentarian.  

"There are several facts that prove these data: it was announced that the new owner of the Sports and Concert Facility NTAA Investment Group represented by a private, certain Armen Z. Gevorgyan, who is a shareholder of Victoria Silver LLC along with Ruzanna Beglaryan, the wife of Vacheh Ghazaryan, and Yervand Hovhannisyan, Vardan Ayvazyan's business partner."

It was reported earlier on August 13 that Yerevan's Sport and Concert Facility after Karen Demirchyan has been sold to a certain NTAA Investment Group LLC for US$30 million. 

Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan has said that the company is to reconstruct the building, create a complex of hotels and a closed aquapark for family leisure time, as well as concert halls, restaurants, shops and a casino. The project is to be implemented within 4 years with the investment of 100 mln USD. The money is to be attracted from abroad. 
Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex, also known as Demirchyan Arena, Sports & Music Complex, or simply Hamalir (for complex in Armenian), is a large sports and concert complex located on Tsitsernakaberd hill which dominates over the western parts of Yerevan, near the Hrazdan River gorge. The complex consists of two main halls; the Concerts hall and the Sports hall, in addition to the large foyer, Hayastan conference hall and Argishti hall designated for diplomatic meetings, exhibitions and other events. The complex was opened in 1983 but forced to close within a year and a half after a fire in 1985. A renovation process took place until the end of 1987 when it was ready again to host concerts and sport events. The complex was designed by a group of Armenian architects: A.  Tarkhanian, S. Khachikyan, G.  Pogosyan and G. Mushegyan. The construction process was supervised by engineers: Hamlet Badalyan (chief engineer) and I. Tsaturian, A. Azizian and M. Aharonian.  In 1990 Ian Gillan's band has played concerts there. 32nd Chess Olympiad also took place at Demirchyan complex.  In 1999, shortly after the assassination of the former speaker of the Armenian parliament Karen Demirchyan in the Armenian parliament shooting, the complex was renamed in honour of him, for his contribution in the construction and the renovation of the complex during the Soviet era.  On October 9, 2005, the complex was sold for US$ 5.7 million. The contract was signed between the Armenian Government and the Russian BAMO Holding Company. Murad Muradian, an Armenian from Moscow, the head of the BAMO holding, attempted to gain the support of Yerevan citizens who were hesitant about the privatization of the building