Helsinki Jokerit plans to apply for a league place in Mestis for next season, confirms the person who started to lead the project Jarmo Koskinen For Urheilu. It was first reported by MTV Urheilu (you will switch to another service).
According to Koskinen, Team Jokerit Oy is working on the final issues of the application and will submit it to the board of the Ice Hockey Federation on Tuesday.
– We believe that the application is good. There are many things that lead to support. One such thing is, which is fun to notice, that Jokerit is still extremely interesting to both the public and the media. The players and everyone have been in touch. The application has been thought through quite deeply. Interfered with conditions, finances, sports activities. Now it is up to the union to decide whether it is worthy of the Mestis place.
If the federal government approves the league place at its meeting next week, the application will go on to be processed by the Ice Hockey Federation’s license committee. According to Koskinen, the association has provided good material on the requirements of the Mestis license and Jokerit has tried to meet these in its application.
One question mark is the hall. According to Koskinen, the Jokers have a firm belief that the situation at the old home arena, the Helsinki arena, will be resolved favorably. The hall has been under Russian ownership, but there has been a lot of speculation about the sale of the hall.
“Stable perception”
A sale may be possible if the Russian owners want to sell the arena and the authorities make special arrangements.
– We are only listeners in the discussions, so we cannot present the matter as a fact at the moment.
– I’m not going to discuss the situation in the arena at all, because we get the information from a certain channel and we don’t have our hands on the wheel in that matter. We don’t control the process, we just wait for information. I will not comment on how the process goes.
So you have information that the process is progressing and it is not completely boring?
– This is our firm understanding of the matter. Yes.
More places to play
According to Koskinen, Jokerit has also planned a different concept, where it would play in several ice rinks in Helsinki and surrounding municipalities during the season.
CEO of Espoo Metro Areena Katariina Järveläinen said earlier to Urheilu and first for MTV Urheilu (you will switch to another service), that Jokerit has been in contact with the arena. CEO of the Ice Foundation Tom Kivimäki on the other hand stated that the Helsinki Ice Hall was not able to commit to the Joker’s project for the entire season’s games.
Koskinen doesn’t want to detail the different options, but according to him, the Jokers have big hopes for the Helsinki ice rink. Jokerit hopes that it will be able to play some matches in the hall.
– However, it is the biggest hall in Helsinki and we believe that we would have the attraction in the public’s mind to fill it. The Hall’s program calendar is unfortunately full and that means that it is not possible to play a very large number of matches there, says Koskinen.
Koskinen doesn’t see pitfalls
The city of Helsinki and the Ice Rink Foundation have said that they require a transparent opening of Jokeri’s funding before the hall shifts can be agreed upon.
– Of course, at the point when things are made public, that’s the way to be and we are open and transparent. There is nothing that would not stand the light of day in this project, Koskinen assures.
Why have you been so silent?
– Things have been in progress and they include one-on-one negotiations with different parties and investors. Until things are certain, some people and entities do not want to become public. Now we are asking for the opportunity for this activity and it has not been meaningful to open up about unfinished business. We ourselves are really sorry and saddened by the situation. We would have liked to inform you, but things have not been at the stage where we can inform you.
If you have a lot of unfinished business, do you think that’s enough for a Mestis license?
– The union will now evaluate the application and what is credible about it, what they want more information about and what things will not work if they see it that way. I would see that the background and basis of the application is such that the matter progresses. We leave with that angle, with a positive mind. I don’t see such pitfalls that the union would say it won’t work. It’s good that they evaluated the viability of our application.
Joel Harkimo assembled the project
The application must contain information about, for example, the club’s funding. What does it consist of?
– I’m not going to open it, because it’s such a sensitive matter. I’m still referring to the fact that the association will receive the information tomorrow and start processing it. It is unlikely that they will go public (say) about this before we go through the issues. It will be told later in the spring.
According to Koskinen, Jokerit is not primarily selling shares to companies, but the ownership is based on individuals. The junior organization Jokerit ry, on the other hand, is involved in the project with its own expertise, according to Koskinen.
What is your own role in the project?
– I will start running this project when we get the licenses. I have been Joel Harkimon participating in discussions and driving this issue.
reported in November that the background company Team Jokerit Oy is 100% owned by Joel Harkimo. Harkimo had previously denied being the face of the project.
What is the role of Joel Harkimo?
– Harkimo has acquired this business through a business transaction and started assembling the project. He will remain a co-owner, says Koskinen.