Puna-Mustat bring men’s Superpesis back to Helsinki

Helsinki will host men’s Superpesis, Finland’s highest-level pesäpallo league, next season for the first time in nearly 30 years, Yle reports. However, plans for a new 15 million euro stadium in Meilahti could take years to complete.

Helsinki-based Puna-Mustat secured promotion by beating Koskenkorvan Urheilijat three games to nil in the Superpesis qualifying series. The team celebrated its promotion on Saturday at Meilahti’s pesäpallo field.

The club hopes its success will lead to a lasting increase in the popularity of pesäpallo in Helsinki. It is negotiating with the city over improvements to the Meilahti facilities and is also discussing the creation of a company to support the project later this year, said Juho Juhantalo, chairman of the board of Puna-Mustat’s supporting company.

Juhantalo did not comment on possible financiers, saying the plans were still unfinished.

The club last played in the top men’s division in 1974. Helsinki’s Kaisaniemen Tiikerit played in Superpesis in 1997 and 1998.

Meilahti’s pesäpallo field was renovated this year, with running water, indoor toilets and a partially covered stand added. Puna-Mustat’s plans go considerably further: the proposed stadium would hold 3,000 spectators, feature substantially larger stands and possibly involve changing the direction of the field.

The city invested more than 500,000 euros in the field earlier this year.

Paavo Arhinmäki, Helsinki’s deputy mayor for culture and leisure, said the city’s responsibility was to provide basic playing conditions. He pointed to a stadium built in Roihuvuori after local women’s pesäpallo club Roihu was promoted to women’s Superpesis.

Further development would be the responsibility of the club and private investors, Arhinmäki said.

If the proposed stadium requires a zoning amendment, the process would take at least a year and probably closer to two years, according to Arhinmäki. A building permit could be issued quickly once the zoning plan is approved.

The city will continue negotiations with Puna-Mustat. Arhinmäki said the project was comparable to a planned football stadium project led by Gnistan, for which the city has granted a planning reservation while a zoning plan is prepared.

Arhinmäki said next year’s city investments had already largely been decided. He added that municipal investments require planning and cannot be launched immediately.

Puna-Mustat’s promotion was secured last Friday, and the city has not yet discussed with the club what smaller improvements might be needed for the team to play in Superpesis.