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The Skyrocketing Price for Helsinki Olympic Stadium’s Renovation

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The renovation of Helsinki Olympic Stadium appeared to have cost more than expected.

The home of the Finland national team, the largest stadium in the country, Helsinki Olympic Stadium, had just been renovated and opened for public again in summer 2021 with a number of additional facilities. However, the price for its overhaul turns out to be skyrocketing compared to the previous plan.

Recently, it has been reported by NAOF (National Audit Office of Finland) that the final price for such a project has reached $ 410 million, whereas the previous estimation in 2016 was only $218 million. In other countries, such an amount is normally sufficient for building an entirely new one with a large capacity. Yet, the result of the renovation project, apart from the new facilities, is barely different from the previous condition. The capacity is still the same: 36,000 people, which is not a big one. Its design tends to be a modest one as well. Nothing really stands out in particular, although the Finns might argue on this issue since they do focus on preserving its original historic outlook and structure.

Regarding the result of the audit,the city of Helsinki eventually released its official statement on the issue ofthe fluctuating construction market as one of the reasons, beside the extremelyhigh material and labour costs in Finland.

“Examples of such new factors were the more extensive and demanding rock quarrying and reinforcement work, the replacement of structures with moisture damage, as well as additional concrete structure work both in the new and refurbishment segments.”

Unfortunately, the NAOF auditors do not seem to be entirely satisfied with it. It is believed that there is an issue of lack of discipline and transparency in relation to spending taxpayer money, although there has been no official confirmation on it yet.

The History

Helsinki Olympic Stadium was erected in 1934 and completed four years later. It was designed by Yrjö Lindegren and Toivo Jäntti and became the hosting venue of the 1952 Olympic Games. Before the 2016 renovation, the stadium was revamped twice: from 1990 to 1994 and in 2004–2005. The most notable facilities after the latest overhaul are the additional hospitality area, the indoor secondary running track hidden just beneath the main track, the sprinters track, and other secondary sports facilities under the stands.

This stadium, which holds concerts by famous world artists more often than notable football matches, was selected to be the host of the UEFA Super Cup 2022. It was held on August 10, 2022. The UEFA Champions League and Europa League winners in the 2021/22 season, Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt, squared off again in the summit after 60 years. Their last duel took place in the 1960 European Cup, the old name of the UEFA Champions League. At that time, Los Blancos dismantled the German side 7-3.

The Recent Matches

In Helsinki 2022, the result remained the same: a victory for Los Merengues in front of 31,024 spectators. They picked up a 2-0 win over Oliver Glasner’s side, scoring one goal each in the first and second halves. Austrian international David Alaba opened the scoring in the 37th minute before Karim Benzema doubled their lead in the 65th minute. It was Real Madrid’s fifth title and the fourth trophy for their boss, Carlo Ancelotti as a manager. 

Meanwhile, the last game staged in this stadium was the EURO 2024 qualifying round match between Finland and Northern Ireland on November 17, 2023. Teemu Pukki and Co. hammered their British opposition 4-0. Such a win helped Finland secure a berth in the playoffs next March. They will be taking on Wales. Should they win, they have a chance to host another decisive game against the winners of Poland and Estonia to snatch one of the last spots in EURO 2024.


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