Helsinki funds Meilahti field upgrade for top-flight baseball

Helsinki has included an upgrade of the Meilahti baseball field in its 2027 budget, Yle reports, paving the way for the venue to meet top-flight requirements.

Men’s top-tier pesäpallo, a Finnish form of baseball, will return to Helsinki next season for the first time in nearly three decades. The traditional Helsinki club Puna-Mustat earned promotion by winning a qualifying series against Koskenkorvan Urheilijat in September.

The Superpesis league and the Finnish Baseball Federation require top-division stadiums to have at least 1,500 covered seats. After the upgrade, Meilahti’s seating capacity is expected to exceed 3,000.

Puna-Mustat called the city’s decision historic and thanked it for taking what the club described as a bold step. The club said it will now work with the city on improvements to the stands and traffic arrangements.