The City of Helsinki has filed legal action against the Helsinki Halli owners to terminate the lease agreement. The action comes after the arena’s Russian owners failed to pay rent totaling approximately 212,000 euros.
Helsinki Arena, formerly known as Hartwall Arena, has been closed since February 2022, following the escalation of the war in Ukraine. The arena’s Russian ownership, primarily held by Gennady Timchenko and Roman Rotenberg, is subject to European Union sanctions, which have disrupted its operations.
Since the sanctions were imposed, the arena’s maintenance company has struggled to meet electricity and heating bills. In early September, the arena’s power supply was turned off due to unpaid bills. “Since the outstanding payments are still unpaid, the City demands that the lease be terminated”, a statement from the City of Helsinki said.
Despite this, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association was temporarily allowed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to pay the overdue electricity bills. However, the association decided not to proceed with this. Efforts to sell the arena have also been delayed by the sanctions. Several private parties, including former NHL player Teemu Selänne, have expressed interest in purchasing the venue.
However, these attempts have been unsuccessful due to the restrictions placed on the Russian owners. Under Finland’s Enforcement Act, even if a sale were approved by Finland’s National Enforcement Authority (Ulosottolaitos), the proceeds would be held until sanctions are lifted.
The City of Helsinki has now begun exploring the possibility of purchasing the stadium.
– This is an important step towards making the arena operational. The events industry in particular has lost a huge number of concerts while the arena has been out of use, said Deputy Mayor Paavo Arhinmäki.
He added that while the city prefers a voluntary sale, possible expropriation of the facility can be carried out if needed.
The City’s plan is to buy the arena temporarily and then potentially resell it to new owners after it has been restored to use.
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