Tampere dismisses manager over ice rink financial irregularities

Tampere has dismissed a manager over financial irregularities linked to Hakametsä Ice Hall, Yle reports. The case involves unlawful overtime and purchases worth about 300,000 euros made without proper contracts or procurement decisions between 2023 and 2025.

The manager had received a written serious warning in 2023, but the city said the employee had not changed their working methods sufficiently.

“Because this person has not been able to change their working methods sufficiently, we have no other option than to take this extreme measure,” Lauri Savisaari, director of the city’s educational services, told Yle.

The dismissal is not limited to Hakametsä Ice Hall, according to Savisaari. It also concerns other sports facilities. The city said the manager knew about unlawful overtime and had failed to properly supervise and guide a subordinate supervisor.

A special audit found that the dismissed employee had acted as either an approver or reviewer in purchases worth about 163,000 euros in 2025 alone, without a procurement contract or decision. The total was about 300,000 euros for the period from 2023 to 2025.

The purchases involved services and materials for sports facilities or events held there. Savisaari did not disclose which companies supplied them.

The city said it was not filing a criminal complaint because it did not suspect that anyone had personally benefited or that the shortcomings had caused financial damage to the city.

Earlier misconduct case still before the courts

The latest findings follow earlier suspected misconduct at Hakametsä Ice Hall. According to the city’s internal investigations, employees had allocated ice time outside the city’s official booking process. The matter came to light in 2023, when the city dismissed three employees over suspected misconduct.

The related case was due to be heard by the Pirkanmaa District Court last November, but the court cancelled the main hearing because the matter had been sent back to police for further investigation. It is not yet known when the case will return to court. Ten men had been charged, with aggravated embezzlement the most serious charge.

The city began investigating financial irregularities in its sports services in 2022. A citywide overtime audit and a special audit of working-time practices and procurement at ice halls were carried out in 2025. The broader audit of sports services is still ongoing.

The dismissed employee denied intentionally violating the employer’s instructions or orders during a hearing in August and said they had not personally benefited. However, the city said the employee did not dispute the findings or working methods described in the hearing invitation, and concluded afterwards that grounds for dismissal existed.