No more Government blessing for Finland Garden Helsinki project

Article posted by Coliseum, July 23^rd, 2026

Image: Garden Helsinki

The Prime Minister (PM) of Finland Petteri Orpo (National Coalition Party [NCP]) said on July 20^th that the Government has withdrawn its political support for the Garden Helsinki project.

‘yle’ stated that the above decision means the Government will no longer pursue the conditional 35-million-euro subsidy that was approved for the project during last year’s midterm budget talks. Instead, it will commission a study into what kind of multipurpose arena Finland will need in the future.

Garden Helsinki is a massive, privately-led urban development project in the Töölö district of Helsinki, Finland, anchored by a multipurpose event arena designed to serve as the new home for the HIFK ice hockey club.

The HIFK Hockey is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland, that plays in the SM-liiga, the sport’s top-level league in Finland. The team plays at the 8,200-seat Helsinki Ice Hall.

PM Orpo announced the decision at a press conference after the Government discussed the issue during an extraordinary plenary session. He said the leaders of the governing parties had agreed on the move during talks on July 19^th – “A lot has happened over the past 15 months. The project has been scaled back and delayed, there have been clear shortcomings in the lobbying process and the competitive situation has changed from what it was in spring 2025.”

‘yle’ further stated that he added that the public debate surrounding the project had also demonstrated that “the decision should, in any case, have been reconsidered politically”.

The Garden Helsinki project has faced weeks of criticism over the Government’s decision to allocate State support with the Opposition parties questioning the decision-making process and alleging preferential treatment because of the project’s links to senior National Coalition Party figures.

Orpo said the governing parties had “collectively concluded” that the project no longer had political backing.

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