Costs arising from the maintenance of sports facilities and other related costs have increased. “With the income from parking, we will be able to maintain the car parks, and the income will also reduce the pressure to raise other sports services fees. Another reason for the change is the harmonisation of parking practices, as the Käpylä velodrome car park, for example, is already subject to a fee, and the same applies to the car park of Paloheinä Ice Hall,” explains Petteri Huurre, head of sports facilities.
The city also hopes that the paid parking will encourage those arriving at the sports facilities to use public transport or a bicycle. This supports the carbon-neutral Helsinki 2035 operational programme to reduce the number of kilometres travelled by car in favour of low-emission modes of transport.
Starting from September 2024, sports facility car parks will become subject to a fee as follows:
- Käpylä sports park: 24 hours a day from 16 September 2024, parking fee EUR 1/h.
- Meilahti sports park: 24 hours a day from 16 September 2024, parking fee EUR 1/h.
- -aloheinä sports park: 24 hours a day from 16 September 2024, parking fee EUR 1/h, subsequent hours EUR 0.50. The same pricing will also apply to the additional car park available in winter near the golf course.
- Pirkkola sports park: 24 hours a day from 16 September 2024, parking fee EUR 1/h, subsequent hours EUR 0.50.
- Kumpula outdoor swimming pool: between 6:00 and 22:00 during the summer season (15 May to 31 August) starting from 1 May 2025, parking fee EUR 1
When parking in a paid area, one must have a valid parking ticket. The ticket machine accepts credit cards and the most common parking apps (Easy Park, ParkMan and Moovy).
