Timo Avery, manager of the huge arena in Helsinki, says that the financial structure of the hall is in order. According to Evers, plans to complete the halls are moving under their own weight.
Garden Helsinki’s leader, Timo Avery, already sees a little light at the end of the tunnel in the long-drawn-out construction project.
The massive arena planned for the area around the Helsinki Ice Rink was first publicly discussed in 2008.
– I hope this case will continue this year as well. The plot is unchanged. The next step is pricing and redeeming it. We are moving forward in good spirit with the city of Helsinki, so the project is going well, says Avery.
Although the plot remains unchanged, its current reservation expires at the end of 2020. Plot reservation in Helsinki’s municipal policy is to be reevaluated.
Deputy Mayor of Helsinki Paavo Arhinmäki told SANOM that there has been no political discussion about the plot reservation.
– That is not a problem. The project must get reliable funding, says Arhinmäki.
The city’s grounds manager Sami Häppen says a decision on rebooking the ice rink project has to be made before the summer holiday season.
According to him, if the project goes ahead, the construction could start by the end of 2024.
Avery sees reintroducing plot reservations as the city’s way of moving the process forward.
According to Evers, major construction decisions are made after the city has completed its work.
Over the years, HIFK’s Gardens Helsinki project has gone through one setback after another. Things are going smoothly.
The flagship project has received a legally binding site plan, but progress on the submission of building permits will take some time.
The leader of the Garden Helsinki project is Timo Avery. Photo: Tomas Selen
The building permit phase takes at least this year, and construction takes at least three to four years.
– The city has its own place of will. Next is the planning phase of 5-6 million euros, when we see that the plot is ready. Avery says the arena’s tenant conditions are excellent and the event industry has recovered surprisingly quickly from the pandemic.
The events industry ran into serious difficulties when the coronavirus pandemic disrupted sporting events and cultural events. The stand crumbled at its emptiness.
Avery calculated that the pandemic slowed the construction project for about a year and a half in 2020-2021.
In addition, the Hall project has been slowed down due to Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The war made it difficult to buy building materials and increased costs. The increase in interest rates also increases the cost of the hall project.
– The cost has gone up by about 15 levels since last spring. Everyone can calculate what it takes in a 600 million euro project, says Avery.
Suarena is estimated to be worth 600–800 million euros. This includes the arena complex and housing construction. A fifteen percent increase in cost would mean an additional bill of 90–120 million euros.
This is what Helsinki Gardens might look like based on observational photos. Photo: Arquitectuuritoimisto BM Oy
Avery says the hall’s financing is in good shape.
If the cost increase is permanent, it should be added to the prices. Let us expect the cost situation to calm down and the interest rates to start falling. You can still give it later.
Citing a confidentiality agreement, Avery does not disclose the names of the financiers.
Such listed companies may wish to participate in the reporting on financing in due course.
This is what Helsinki Gardens might look like based on observational photos. Photo: PES-Arkitehdit Oy
Gardens Helsinki received planning reservation for their project in 2015. Leaders had hoped to start construction three years earlier.
Now it can be a matter of relief that we will not be able to build this year. After all, it’s only been known for twenty years and has had enough detractors, laughs Avery.
The goal is for HIFK’s new field to become the largest or even the largest in Finland. There is no official seat count, but according to public figures, the stand can hold 11,000–16,000 spectators.
There will be apartments for approximately 350-400 residents. The hotel will be 21,000 square meters in size, and the office and commercial complex will be around 42,000 square meters.
Most of the project will be buried underground, that is, about one lakh square meters. About 60,000 square meters will remain on the ground.
The Nokia Arena, to be completed in Tampere in 2021, offers up to 15,000 spectator seats. The size of the arena is 50,000 square metres.
Talk about a new arena in Tampere began in 1998, a year after the Pasila arena (formerly the Hartwall arena) turned one year old.
Due to sanctions by the Russian owners, the Hall of Pasila is closed and its future looks uncertain, although it has been said that a buyer will be found for it very soon.
In Helsinki, two hall projects are planned for Suvilahti. There are no plan changes pending for the entrepreneurial group Suvilhati Akhara. On the other hand, the formula for Suvilahti Event Hub has been approved and will then proceed to finalize the financing of the project.
The Garden Helsinki large hall is planned in Attu-Tolo between the Nordenskiöld Ice Rink and the Zoo Rocks. View of the Olympic Stadium from the Aurora Bridge. Photo: Kaisa Rauthaimo / HS
