Finland\u2019s government has withdrawn its support for a planned \u20ac35 million state subsidy for the Garden Helsinki arena project after weeks of dispute over lobbying, political links and the basis for the funding decision.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced the move on Monday after an extraordinary government session. He said the four governing parties had agreed that the project no longer had political backing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
\u201cThis government will no longer advance this state aid,\u201d Orpo told reporters.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The government approved the conditional subsidy during its spending talks in spring 2025. No state money has been paid to the project.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Orpo said the arena plan had become smaller, suffered delays and faced a different competitive situation from the one assessed in 2025. He also referred to mistakes in lobbying and said the public dispute had affected the government\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot has happened over the past fifteen months,\u201d Orpo said at the press conference. \u201cThe project has been scaled back and delayed, there have been clear shortcomings in the lobbying process, and the competitive situation has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said the government parties reached the decision together during talks on Sunday. He did not identify which party or minister first proposed withdrawing support.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The government will now commission a review of Finland\u2019s need for a large multipurpose arena. The review will also examine how major venue projects should apply for state support and what criteria officials should use when comparing applications.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Orpo said Finland lacks a transparent process for assessing support for projects of this scale. The review is due for completion in spring 2027.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Garden Helsinki is planned for Taka-T\u00f6\u00f6l\u00f6 in Helsinki. The venue was designed to host ice hockey, concerts and other events, with HIFK expected to use the arena as its home ground.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The project has faced scrutiny since details emerged about the government\u2019s decision to reserve \u20ac35 million in conditional aid despite a critical assessment from Ministry of Finance officials.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Opposition parties have questioned<\/a> why the government backed the project and whether its links to senior National Coalition Party figures affected the process.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Former National Coalition Party minister and Helsinki mayor Jan Vapaavuori has served as chairman of the project company and has lobbied for the arena. Vapaavuori failed to record part of his lobbying activity in Finland\u2019s transparency register.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Orpo said the National Audit Office should examine<\/a> the project company\u2019s lobbying work in detail.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n