The City of Helsinki intends to buy Helsinki Halli, a large indoor arena in the Ilmala district, previously known as the Hartwall Arena.
According to Deputy Mayor Paavo Arhinmäki (Left), a process to expropriate the property will probably be launched by the beginning of June, at the latest, if its owners do not voluntarily agree to a sale.
The arena has been closed since late February 2022, when Russia attacked Ukraine. According to a city press release, the opening of the arena is important for the cultural and sports sectors, as well as for major events and other economic activities.
Several private parties have been trying for a year and a half to buy the arena from its Russian owners without success. Its owners are currently under a myriad of EU sanctions, further complicating the facility's sale.
"This is an important step towards making the arena operational. The events industry in particular has lost a huge number of concerts while the arena has been out of use," said Arhinmäki, a former minister of culture and sport.
The venue, near the Pasila transport hub, has a capacity of up to 14,000.
According to Deputy Mayor Arhinmäki, the city is seeking a voluntary deal with the current owners. At the same time, it is preparing measures to ensure that the possible expropriation of the facility can be carried out if needed.
The city is looking into whether expropriation is possible under current legislation, or if new legislation will be required.
Re-opening important
According to the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the city is not seeking permanent ownership of the arena. Rather it sees buying it as a way of getting it back into use before selling it on to new owners.
The city has already instructed the foundation operating the arena that it must be prepared to reopen as soon as possible, if ownership is transferred to the city.
According to Arhinmäki, the most important thing now is to get the area back in use as soon as possible. If the city takes ownership of the facility, a decision on a possible resale will be made at a later date.
"At this point, it is not relevant who will own the arena later," said Arhinmäki.
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