City planning on buying Ilmala arena plot

The City of Helsinki is planning on buying the plot on which Ilmala arena, which has been closed for a long time, stands from its current owner, the Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company. The arena has been known as Helsinki Hall in recent years.

The purchase of the plot will not impact the land lease contract between the City and Helsinki Halli Oy or the ownership of the arena building.

“The purchase of the plot will do away with the impractical lease arrangement. By buying the plot, the City will secure a better standing to renegotiate the terms of the lease going forward,” Head of the Plots Unit at the City of Helsinki Timo Laiho says.

The idea is to execute the purchase as a trade-off, in which Elo will receive a share of a plot located in Koskela and a building site in Roihuvuori in exchange for the arena plot. The Urban Environment Committee will be discussing the proposal on Tuesday 19 November. If the committee approves the proposal, it will advance to the City Board.

Originally, the City of Helsinki leased the plot from the state in the 1990s and sublet it to Helsinki Halli Oy, which then built the arena on the plot. The pension insurance company Tapiola (currently the Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company) bought the plot in 2006, but the exceptional subletting arrangement remained as it was until recently.

Arena essential for culture and physical activity

Ilmala arena, completed in 1997, has been closed since early spring 2022, when Russia launched its attack on Ukraine and the major shareholders of the arena company Helsinki Halli Oy, who had Russian backgrounds, were placed on the European Union and United States sanctions list.

The City has hoped for a new private owner for the arena, primarily through voluntary trade, so that the arena could be taken into use as soon as possible.

The arena is located centrally, and it plays a very important role in physical activity and culture as well as the ability to hold major events in Helsinki.