In Lappeenranta’s SaiPa, everything changed confusingly quickly, but the biggest problem of the future is badly overshadowing the new rise, writes Jussi Paasi.
Jussi Paasi
18:07•Updated 18:23
Soap.
The laughingstock of the SM league. A stain of shame. Goodbye to Mestis.
During the last league seasons, Lappeenranta’s SaiPa was laughed at. With reason. Everything possible was wrong with SaiPa.
The jumbo place in the standings was cemented for “sputnik”. At the club’s office, things went down to the same level. With a turnover of less than five million euros, losses of more than one million euros. Definitely some sort of record.
It looked like SaiPa is waiting for the final nail in his yellow-black coffin.
Whatever happened!
In a surprisingly short time, everything seems to have changed.
The key people changed one by one. New athletic director, new CEO, new owners, new board, new head coach. Only one new one is missing, but we’ll get back to that later.
The sporting success has been staggering this season. As I write this, SaiPa is fourth in the SM league. And this week the club has acquired NHL players in its ranks.
Yes, you read that right. NHL players. First, SaiPa recruited a goalkeeper by Michael Hutchinsonthen defender Mark Pysyk too. Pysyk has played 500 games in the NHL.
It feels absolutely incredible. And that’s what it is.
Every Sports Club dreams of the attention that SaiPa is now receiving. Laughing and derisive laughter have been replaced by increasing media attention and social media buzz.
Sports director in meme pictures Harry “Sour” Clearing posing with huge, tattooed biceps, jokingly photoshopped into SaiPa’s shirt as the next NHL acquisition Connor McDavid. And so on.
A new rise in a decaying framework
So everything is fine in Lappeenranta?
Not really.
That one missing “new” is a huge stumbling block for SaiPa. The biggest obstacle to a bright future.
Kisapuisto’s ice rink has been running out of water for a long time. It is frankly incomprehensible that the worst hall in the SM league has passed the criteria required for a major league license.
The condition of the dilapidated hall has been appalled for years. Four years ago, it was reported in ‘s story that Kisapuisto fully meets the safety regulations.
Five years ago, the premises committee of the city of Lappeenranta came to the conclusion that it does not make sense to renovate the hall. Lappeenranta needs a new arena.
First, the new arena was drawn in the center, as a so-called “cover arena” following the example of Tampere. The plan did not go ahead.
After that, a new proposal for a downtown arena emerged. This time, the market was planned as the place. Even that proposal did not get enough decision-makers behind it.
The municipal decision-makers were of the opinion that the location of the new arena is in the same residential area where the current hall is located.
This fall, the city of Lappeenranta unexpectedly announced that the old ice rink will be repaired after all, so that its lifespan can be extended by five, even ten years.
Of course, that means postponing the arena project by five, even ten years.
It’s not real. The hall, which has reached the end of its life cycle and is in poor condition, will be given artificial respiration for several million euros. That’s how much money is poured into the open.
SaiPa’s rocket-like rise to the top of the SM league reveals many things.
First of all, the importance of the ice hockey club to a city the size of Lappeenranta. How else can a city get similar weekly attention?
At the same time, the short-sightedness of municipal politics is revealed. Apparently, Lappeenranta was waiting for the final collapse of SaiPa, which would have “solved” the fate of the arena.
Did you also forget the fact that the benefit brought by the new arena to the city is related to much more than sports, if the arena is located in a central location? You can ask more about it, for example, from the direction of Tampere.
The municipal decision-makers of Lappeenranta seem to be ashamed now. Or at least I could bear to be ashamed. Raimo Helminen under the management, SaiPa has wiped away the sporting disgrace, but the new rise is taking place in a decaying framework.
It reminds you of the most essential question in every game: how much does Lappeenranta really value SaiPa?
Expert Topi Nättinen and journalist Jussi Paasi cook up the hottest topics in Finnish hockey once a week. Listen and watch the latest Paasi ja Nättinen: 5 minutien series episode in the video above.