Council reviews Garden Helsinki dispute after criticism of chair’s statements

Finland’s State Sports Council spent about two hours reviewing its chair Timo Heinonen’s statements about the Garden Helsinki project, Yle reported. Some council members have reportedly considered his statements in Parliament about the project and the council’s role misleading.

The meeting focused on Garden Helsinki’s status as a project of national significance. According to a statement issued after Monday’s meeting, the council endorsed that status on 14 December 2023.

Heinonen, who represents the National Coalition Party, said the council examined in detail how Garden Helsinki and other major sports projects had been handled over the years. He said misunderstandings and incorrect interpretations had become associated with the project and its public discussion.

“My aim in Parliament was to explain that this did not come out of nowhere without any preparation,” Heinonen said. He described the council’s meeting as necessary and thorough, adding that its outcome was completely unanimous.

The council’s secretary general, Toni Piispanen, said there had been no need to discuss Heinonen’s position or confidence in him during the meeting.

Funding decision triggered political crisis

Garden Helsinki is a long-planned project to build an international-standard multipurpose events arena in Töölö, Helsinki.

The government set aside 35 million euros in conditional state funding for the project at its budget framework session in spring 2025. The decision became the subject of wider public debate in June 2026, after which Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced that the government was withdrawing its political support for the project.

The project has been strongly promoted by National Coalition Party figure Jan Vapaavuori. Opposition parties criticised the lack of transparency in the preparation of the funding decision and raised concerns that party connections had influenced the arrangement while public finances were being cut elsewhere.

Parliament held more than nine hours of debate on the matter on 21 July, followed by a confidence vote in the prime minister and the government. Both retained Parliament’s confidence, with the vote ending 101 to 90.

The Chancellor of Justice is examining whether Orpo may have been disqualified from participating in decisions concerning Garden Helsinki. The project involves construction company SRV, whose principal owner, Ilpo Kokkila, has provided significant campaign funding to the National Coalition Party over many years, with some of it directed to the prime minister.