According to SaiPan’s Jussi Oko, the roof of the Kisapuisto ice rink could prevent Mestis from getting back to the SM league. HPK’s Jyrki Louhi says that preparations for next year must already start.
SpongeBob Forsberg,
Ville Toijonen,
Dani Branthin
The Ice Hockey Championship League said on Thursday that from the 2024-25 season, qualifiers will be held in the Championship League between the winner of Mestis and the last place in the Championship League. The league qualification is therefore ahead in the spring of 2025.
Chairman Heikki Hiltunen according to SM-liiga Oy, the decision made by the 15 shareholder clubs was unanimous. In the past, there has been news about the disagreement between the clubs regarding the series renewal.
Small clubs have been considered to be against the opening of the series, so that they could secure their finances with, for example, clearance sales.
The chairman of the board who represented SaiPa, one of the weakest clubs in the SM league, at the meeting Jussi Okko said that there were no sounds of gravel on Thursday.
– I’ve been chairman for a month, so I don’t know what happened behind the scenes before. But if you think about this clip and the discussions, everyone has seen that this is the best solution, says Okko.
According to him, the recent decision is sportingly correct. The man sees that it brings a new nuance to clubs, spectators and stakeholders. SaiPa’s current season will not be affected by the decision. The team’s goal is to play in the playoffs and at the highest level in the future as well.
– We are looking ahead and want to reach the level we should be at, athletically and perhaps financially as well, and we will not settle for languishing at the bottom.
The Lappeenranta club’s season in the SM league could be interrupted instead of game performances, for example, due to financial or ice rink-related issues. The decision on Lappeenranta’s new ice rink has dragged on, and Kisapuisto’s rink, completed in 1972, is unhelpfully outdated.
According to chairman Oko, SaiPa’s ice rink meets the license requirements for its size class, but otherwise it cannot be certain.
– For example, the condition of the roof is a little worrying.
According to Oko, SaiPa gives other clubs a lot of leverage when it comes to spectator comfort or the opportunities or side events organized for business customers.
If momentum needs to be sought from Mestis back to the League, would the hall prevent the rise again?
– Yes, it would probably at least limit it. Surely, at that point, the group on the sticks would wonder if Kisapuisto would be able to practice financially profitable league hockey. At least this is a big question mark.
The elevator shop pays
The chairman of HPK, which started the season on a low note Jyrki Louhin according to the opening of the SM league has been a difficult topic for the teams, because the lift movement between the two leagues can mean big financial costs for the clubs.
– If HPK were to visit Mestis sometime in the future, according to my calculations, it would currently cost 10 million to move up from there, because the league share would have to be paid again. Getting a competitive team and thus a competitive turnover is a really big deal.
According to Louhi, the decision to open the SM league does not affect the daily life of the club more. However, preparations for next year must already start, because then the teams must be competitive. Financial profitability and making a profit are emphasized.
– We are currently by many measures too small a club to compete competitively and create an entertaining sports story and experience. We have to grow anyway. The clubs’ turnovers and player budgets have grown enormously over the past 5–10 years.
Louhi estimates that after the opening of the SM league, there may be changes to the number of teams in the main league. As a result of a smaller series than the current one, some of the traditional league teams would play in Mestis.
– We are now an operator in the lower quarter, and this gives us opportunities to grow. In the future, it doesn’t matter to HPK whether there are 16, 14 or 12 teams. We want to be one big club with a good brand in the future.