After two years of disuse, Helsinki Arena starts to smell bad

The facility has been out of operation since its closure in February 2022 due to Russian sanctions.

Aerial view of the Helsinki Arena and surrounding parking lot. — Image: Ronnie Holmberg / Yle

The Halli Arena in Helsinki – which has been out of action since being closed due to sanctions following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – is starting to smell bad.

The facility’s electricity, district heating and water were shut off in early September due to unpaid bills. The arena’s management company is owned by a group of Russian oligarchs and remains unable to pay the bills due to the sanctions.

Helsinki ice hockey club Jokerit was a tenant of the arena before the sanctions, but left the arena empty when it left the Russian Continental Hockey League in 2022 and had to find a new home in the Finnish system.

The team has since removed its equipment from the facility. The last load of equipment was taken away a few weeks ago, said the club’s chairman. Mikko Saarni. He was not in the arena when he moved out, but only found out about the situation later.

“There was no water on the floors but they said you could see the building was no longer in use. It already has a bad, musty smell,” explained Saarni.

According to Saarni, the club fears that the condition of the arena will worsen before the situation changes.

“Like everyone else, we are worried about whether the facility and the hall will soon be usable again,” said Saarni.

The Finnish national ice hockey team also used the arena before it was closed, but did not know what condition it was in as they had not rented premises there.

Yle made several unsuccessful attempts to reach Helsinki board member Halli Kai Paanastas about the condition of the arena.

In September, Juhani Hyvärinenthe director of the Finnish Construction Services Industry and Trade, warned of the possibility that cold weather could cause problems in the arena.

In late August, the arena management company pointed out that there were ammonia tanks in the arena that needed to be monitored electronically, adding that in a worst-case scenario there was a risk of the tanks exploding.

Late last month, the City of Helsinki filed a lawsuit against Helsinki Halli for non-payment of rent for land it leased to the company.