The room for maneuver and the conditions for implementing the stadium project have weakened. The construction of the stadium is being considered as part of other investments that the city plans to cut.
The city of Kuopio’s tighter economy and plans to cut investments put the Kuopio central field stadium project in a new situation.
The central field investment is not included in the city’s economic balancing program, which includes qualifying investments. Mayor Soile Lahten however, the scope for implementing the project has changed.
– The conditions for the completion of that project have certainly been better from the economic side in the past than they are at the moment, says Lahti.
The stadium project is to be implemented with a leasing and life cycle model, where a private operator would act as the financier and owner. The city of Kuopio would sign a 20-year leasing contract with the operator and KuPS would pay rent for the stadium. At the end of the contract period, the field would become the city’s property.
In June 2021, the Kuopio city council made a decision on the stadium project for 6,000 spectators. Kuopio Palloseura has submitted a proposal for a bigger stadium to the city. A solution is now expected from the city, which is evaluating the construction of the stadium as part of other investments.
According to the balancing program presented on Thursday, an investment pipeline will be created for the economic planning period until the end of 2027, within which the selected investments can be implemented.
The goal is to reduce the amount of investments over the course of four years by a total of 50 million euros to 300 million euros. This would mean a drop in investments from 87 million to 75 million euros per year.
The presentation also includes the policy that a cost-benefit analysis must be presented for each investment project, which must clearly show the elements that increase productivity and their effects in terms of euros and person-years. Investment projects are prioritized based on a cost-benefit analysis.