Vantaa arena project chief says information about proposal did not circulate between ministries

Vantaa’s Kivistö Arena 3.3 project leader Pepe Perkiö says information about the proposed venue did not reach all relevant ministries despite repeated contacts with the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Perkiö stated that while the Ministry of Education and Culture has been aware of the Kivistö project since 2019, details did not appear to have been shared with the Ministry of Finance or other ministries involved in grant decisions.

“The ministry responsible for support has been fully informed, but not all information seems to have reached the Ministry of Finance,” Perkiö said. He added that neither officials nor politicians outside the responsible ministry were briefed on the Kivistö proposal during the spring 2025 budget framework talks.

The Ministry of Finance was reportedly aware of the Kivistö project “at some level” during the framework negotiations, when a €35 million conditional grant was approved for the rival Helsinki Garden project. Perkiö questioned why the government treated the two proposals differently, given that his team had maintained regular contact with the Ministry of Education and Culture for years.

“The Ministry of Education and Culture repeatedly said no suitable cultural grants were available, but suggested smaller sports grants of €300,000–€750,000 once the project reached a more advanced stage,” he said. “We decided to advance the project to a point where cancellation or scaling back would no longer be likely.”