Plans have included a World Championship-level competition center that would allow downhill skiing from K110 as well as cross-country and biathlon. The cost estimate has risen by EUR 10 million from four years ago.
Jarmo Nuotio,
Päivi Annala
The construction of a new competition stadium in Vuokatti is being postponed.
According to plans made four years ago, the € 20 million stadium was to make it possible to hold major international competitions. Financing first hit its crown, and now costs are getting out of hand.
President of Vuokatti Sports College Mari Varjonen says a lot of planning has been done, but now the problem is money. Varjonen estimates that the cost estimate has risen from four years ago to almost 30 million euros.
Plans have included a World Championship-level competition center that would allow downhill skiing from K110 as well as cross-country and biathlon. An update is generally required for site execution locations.
The stadium is important for the whole of Kainuu and especially for Vuokatti Sport, which currently operates as an Olympic training center for skiing. The new stadium is set to serve international competitions.
– The stadium is needed for coaching and top athletes. We need more demanding tracks and also bigger events.
Funding must come from Finland and the EU
Excavation work on the slopes of the former host school in Vuokatti had time to start already last year, but no one knows when the work will continue. Before construction can properly begin, more funding needs to be obtained from many directions.
Varjonen says that the stadium will not be built a bit from now on during the high-end supplies, but the stadium will be made decent as long as there is a better time.
– We have to believe in dreams and be realistic, and we need help.
Various funding opportunities are being sought from the Olympic Committee, the Ministry and the Ski Association, as well as from local players in Vuokatti and Sotkamo.
– One party is not enough, it is a puzzle. There is ambiguity and uncertainty due to the world situation.
EU funding has been used in similar European projects as the main funding channel, for example in Planica, Slovenia. According to Varjonen, the debate on EU funding should be reopened.
So the intention is that the stadium will still rise in Vuokatti, and the sooner we can start, the faster we will be at the finish line. How much will be left if not set in motion soon?
– Every minute is a lost minute. Let’s get this thing right together, CEO Varjonen concludes.