The total project costs of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium renovation and refurbishment project have now been added up. According to the City of Helsinki, the project’s builder-developer, the final total cost amounted to 336.873 million euro. The strong upward cycle boosting the building contract prises accounts much of the cost increase during the project.
When the contract on the maximum price of the Olympic Stadium renewal project was signed in 2014, the so-called tender price index, in other words, the increase in building costs, was not included as an element of the project financing plan. In the years 2015-2020, the construction sector saw a particularly strong upswing, causing a continuous increase in labour and material costs.
Several surprises were encountered in the renewal of the meticulously protected building, and the work proved to be far more demanding than expected and envisioned during its careful planning. Examples of such new factors were the more extensive and demanding rock quarrying and reinforcement work, replacement of structures with moisture damage as well as additional concrete structure work both in the new and the refurbishment segments.
Re-inaugurated in August, the Olympic Stadium has gone through a significant transformation. Helsinki now has a multipurpose arena which meets the requirements of large-scale international events. Moreover, voluminous new spaces and facilities were added to the Stadium, in particular underground. The renewed Olympic Stadium is in daily use of the Helsinki inhabitants and visitors, and the operations have been launched within the restrictions dictated by the need to prevent the spreading of the Covid-19 virus.
The renewed Olympic Stadium opened in August 2020 in the midst of an exceptional year. Irrespective of the particular and challenging health situation, the public has been very interested in the Stadium. There has been great demand for the event facilities, new visitor services and gyms and exercise spaces. Several sports events, concerts and other large-scale events are in the pipeline for the year 2021 and the years to come.
The future events at the Stadium are estimated to generate about 1150 jobs annually, with 132 million euro of production revenue. The estimated regional financial impacts are 80 million euro annually.
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Photo: Wellu Hämäläinen.
