The political dispute over a €35 million state investment pledge for the Helsinki Garden arena project has intensified after the project’s chairman, Jan Vapaavuori, acknowledged discussing the proposal with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, while opposition parties continued to demand documents explaining how the funding decision was reached.
The Finnish government approved the conditional investment support during its 2025 mid-term budget negotiations. The money will only be paid if the planned arena in Helsinki’s Töölö district is built.
The decision has come under renewed scrutiny after local newspapers Vantaan Sanomat and Helsingin Uutiset reported they were unable to establish how the funding proposal reached the government’s agenda.
Speaking to Yle and Helsingin Sanomat, Vapaavuori rejected suggestions that the project had received preferential treatment because both he and Orpo are members of the National Coalition Party.
Vapaavuori said he first approached senior officials at the Ministry of Finance in January 2024, including Permanent Secretary Juha Majanen and Budget Director Mika Niemelä, before later informing the Prime Minister’s Office about the proposal.
He said his conversations with Orpo were brief rather than formal negotiations.
“I have not negotiated with Orpo about this at all. I mentioned the project in passing on a few occasions, but most of our discussions were with Ministry of Finance officials and, to some extent, the Prime Minister’s Office,” Vapaavuori told Helsingin Sanomat.
In an interview with Yle, Vapaavuori said he had told Orpo that Helsinki was seeking support comparable to the state funding previously granted for Tampere’s Nokia Arena.
“I mentioned that I would be applying for support and that I was discussing it with the Ministry of Finance,” he said.
Vapaavuori argued that projects of this scale do not follow a standard funding route because they are developed only once every decade or two. He also noted that the Nokia Arena received a larger subsidy relative to its size than the Helsinki project.
He defended the investment by pointing to expected economic benefits.
According to Vapaavuori, studies of Nokia Arena and Helsinki Olympic Stadium estimate annual economic impacts of at least €200 million. He argued that the Helsinki Garden project would generate an even greater effect through major sporting events, concerts and increased business for hotels, restaurants, taxis and other local companies.
He also dismissed concerns that planned arenas elsewhere in the Helsinki metropolitan area would create excess capacity.
“Helsinki currently has just over 20,000 seats across its multi-purpose arenas. Stockholm has around 120,000. There is room for more than one arena in this region,” he told Yle.
The controversy has also raised questions about lobbying rules.
Vapaavuori acknowledged that contacts with the Ministry of Finance were not entered into Finland’s transparency register because they were initially considered too limited to require reporting.
He admitted the number of contacts with ministry officials during 2024 may have exceeded the reporting threshold.
“In hindsight, it is fair to admit that there may have been more than five contacts. We may have made a mistake on our side,” he told Helsingin Sanomat.
Prime Minister Orpo has rejected accusations that the funding represented a political favour.
He said the National Coalition Party supported the project because it viewed the arena as nationally significant and believed it would support the construction sector. According to the prime minister, the political agreement was reached during normal coalition negotiations, while any final grant would still require a separate administrative assessment if the project proceeds.
Finance Minister Riikka Purra said she personally opposed supporting the project during its early stages.
Purra told Helsingin Sanomat that Vapaavuori requested a meeting with her in November 2024 but she declined.
“I did not accept the meeting request. I had familiarised myself with the project at a general level and had heard the views of Ministry of Finance officials. I did not consider promoting it productive,” she said.
Purra said she shared the ministry officials’ scepticism at the time, meaning the proposal did not advance through her office.
She nevertheless accepted the funding as part of the coalition’s wider budget compromise during the 2025 negotiations.
“The National Coalition Party brought the Garden proposal to the negotiating table. It was accepted as part of a broader package. Coalition parties have their own priorities, and the final result is a compromise,” Purra said.
Opposition parties have continued pressing for greater transparency.
Social Democratic Party leader Antti Lindtman said Orpo’s explanation failed to answer key questions about how the proposal was prepared.
“We need a detailed and transparent account of how the decision was prepared and through what process it reached the government’s decision-making,” Lindtman told Yle.
He said the prime minister should explain his own role, identify those who prepared the proposal and outline the grounds on which the subsidy was recommended.
Lindtman added that Finland needs major international sports and cultural venues but argued that all projects should be assessed under the same rules when public funding is involved.
Centre Party leader Antti Kaikkonen called on the government to publish all documents related to the funding decision without delay.
“It is strange that no one appears willing to take responsibility for such a significant decision,” Kaikkonen said in a statement.
The government has maintained that the decision followed the normal political negotiation process and that any future payment will remain conditional on the project meeting the necessary administrative requirements.
HT