Helsinki Ski Weeks at the Olympic Stadium was too heavy a package for the Ski Association’s finances. In the future, Lahti and Tampere are interested in the event on a smaller scale.
Launched in 2020, but held for the first time only in 2022 due to the corona pandemic, the history of the Helsinki Ski Weeks event at the Olympic Stadium was short.
Ski Weeks was envisioned as a new financial foundation for the Finnish Ski Federation, but it turned out to be a foundation of clay that caused losses of hundreds of thousands of euros for two companies.
It was not possible for the Ski Federation and its commercial company Nordic Ski Finland, which reportedly made losses of at least half a million euros for the fiscal year ending, to continue the event in Helsinki with the rental level of the Olympic Stadium and the cost structure of Helsinki.
Ski Weeks turned out to be a highly praised and popular local exerciser thanks to the skiing opportunity offered in the heart of the capital. It also attracted new sponsors to skiing and was successful at award ceremonies in the event and sponsorship industry.
However, the financial equation turned out to be impossible, because due to the aid agreement with the city of Helsinki, no fee was charged to the fitness enthusiasts for skiing, and on the other hand, ticket sales for the climax of the event, i.e. the high-level stadium sprint, were very low both times.
New candidates
However, according to the information obtained by Urheilu, leaving the Olympic Stadium does not mean the end of the tradition. Both Tampere and Lahti have shown an interest in the direction of the Ski Association to continue the Ski Weeks tradition. In Lahti, the event would be organized within the framework of the ski stadium, and in Tampere either at Kaup or Ratina stadium, where the ski event already organized in 2022 proved to be a success.
Both provincial options would reduce the fixed event costs of the Ski Association enormously.
At the same time, the Ski Federation has also considered significant changes to the Finnish Cup event calendar from the 2024–2025 season onwards. In the future, the association would like to organize competitions in places that are clearly more populous than today. At least Jyväskylä, Tampere and Kuopio have been talked about as candidates, which will already be among the organizers next season.