Orpo urged Vapaavuori to meet Purra over Helsinki Garden project

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo encouraged Helsinki Garden project lobbyist and National Coalition Party politician Jan Vapaavuori to request a meeting with Finance Minister Riikka Purra regarding a state guarantee for the multi-purpose arena, according to an email obtained by Iltalehti.

In the November 2024 email, Vapaavuori sought a €110 million state guarantee for the proposed Helsinki Garden arena in Helsinki’s Taka-Töölö district. Purra has stated she declined the meeting.

Finance Ministry officials opposed the guarantee due to excessive risks, Iltalehti reports. The government later approved €35 million in conditional investment support for the project in spring 2025, payable if the construction proceeds.

Orpo told MTV News that no competing projects were known when the decision was made. However, ministry documents show several other large hall or arena projects were already under consideration as of November 2024, including some in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

“In recent days, it has emerged that in addition to this project, there are also many other large hall/arena projects underway, some of which are also in the capital region. As a result, this matter must be examined more broadly than as a single application,” wrote financial counsellor Sakari Lehtiö in internal ministry correspondence.