The City of Helsinki is planning a new stadium in Oulunkylä sports park to be used for football games and other events. The City Sports Services assess that Helsinki will require one new football stadium in the coming years, in addition to the football stadium in Töölö.
"The need for the stadium has been identified and it is good that the conditions for locating it in Oulunkylä are thoroughly investigated. At the same time, however, it is also necessary to ensure that the other sports conditions in the sports park can be developed in the coming years," says Sports Facilities Manager Petteri Huurre.
The plan also involves developing the sports fields in the park to continue to allow for the competitions and activities of local football clubs, schools' physical education classes and residents' recreation and exercise. Helsinki is also examining the possibility of placing residential buildings by Hirsipadontie road and the junction area, in the immediate vicinity of the Jokeri Light Rail Line.
"Oulunkylä sports park is one of the most diverse sports facilities in Helsinki, and people from all around the city want to visit it. Helsinki aims to develop the sports park to be even more functional so that it continues to serve various user groups widely and connect to the pleasant, dense and lively environment around the Jokeri Light Rail Line," says Architect Outi Ruski.
During the planning process that is about to begin, Helsinki will prepare the necessary plans and surveys on the size of the stadium and the extent of housing that are feasible for the planning area. Helsinki will also decide if the stadium is implemented as the City's own project or as a private project based on a competition to be organised following the draft plan.
The initial information to be obtained for the plan amendment will involve the natural values of the area and the location of trees that are significant for the flying squirrel. The planning will also involve an assessment on the impact that large events will have on the use and neighbourhood of the sports park. The parking and maintenance solutions required by the sports park, stadium and housing will be surveyed as a whole. A traffic plan will also be prepared for the area.
Welcome to discuss the plans at Oulunkylä Comprehensive School on 23 April
You can view the participation and assessment plan concerning the project between 7 and 29 April 2025 on the City of Helsinki website.
Residents are invited to discuss the plans at an event organised on Wednesday 23 April 2025 at 17.00–19.00, at Oulunkylä Comprehensive School, address Siltavoudintie 24. The event will have a presentation on the premises and goals for the planning. Afterwards, residents can talk to experts by the maps and give their thoughts on the plans on developing the sports park.
The materials for the draft plan stage will be available for public review in late 2025. At that point, the public can provide feedback on the plans. After this, the draft plan will be presented to the Urban Environment Committee.
Oulunkylä sports park is home to many sports
Oulunkylä sports park is one of the most notable sports parks in Helsinki thanks to its diversity and good accessibility. The sports park includes an artificial ice rink and a training ice arena, as well as a maintenance building that serves them, a curling arena, an athletics track, a full-sized football field, and a training field for football. The northern part of the park has a playground and an outdoor gym.
An overhaul of the cooling engineering system of the artificial ice rink and the ice arena next to it, built in 1977, is underway in the sports park. The maintenance building next to the artificial ice rink will also be renovated. The renovations will extend the ice arena's service life by 6–8 years, but the ice arena will require extensive renovation, and perhaps even demolition, within the next 8–10 years.
The football field and spectator stands located in the middle of the area are rented to the Oulunkylän Tekonurmi Oy artificial turf company owned by the IF Gnistan football club. In addition to the IF Gnistan first teams and its other members, the field is also used by local schools and residents. The main stands at the western edge of the field were destroyed in a fire in summer 2024. The construction of temporary stands is currently underway in the area.
