Refurbishing of Olympic Stadium more costly than anticipated

Higher steel prices have pushed up cost estimates; State and City of Helsinki reluctant to pick up bigger tab

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The cost of roofing the east stand of Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium, part of the work required to bring the venue up to specifications for next year’s IAAF World Championships, will be around EUR 1.6 million more than anticipated. The rising cost of steel has pushed the latest estimates up to more than EUR 10 million.
      As recently as May of this year, the aggregate budget sum for the project was estimated at EUR 9.5 million.
      The Finnish State and the City of Helsinki promised to split the costs of renovations between them. Each has underwritten the work to a total of EUR 4.2 million, and neither party is willing to foot the bill for the additional nearly EUR 2 million.
      According to Tapio Korhonen, the City’s Finance Director, the responsibility for finding the additional funds will fall on the shoulders of the Stadium Foundation.
     
The Foundation will use revenue from concerts and football matches in the stadium to cover the shortfall. Erkki Aurejärvi, who heads the Stadium Foundation and is also on the organising committee for the 2005 games, says for example that the hastily-arranged European Champions League qualifier between FC Haka and Liverpool in 2001 brought in a windfall of more than EUR 300,000.
      The Olympic Stadium, with a concert capacity of 40-45,000, is also popular with large “stadium-class” rock acts, such as Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, and this year Metallica and Paul McCartney. Nevertheless, Aurejärvi says the Foundation will have to take out a loan for some of the extra money.
      He stresses that the most important issue is that the work should remain on schedule and that everything has to be ready by May next year.
     
Work began on improvements to the Stadium already this spring, and now the roofing project is under way, along with the resurfacing of the athletics track. A new Mondo running surface was ordered from Italy. The roofing elements along the back straight will begin to be put in place in September.
      Work at the venue has meant that Finland’s international football matches this autumn (for the 2006 World Cup) will have to be played in Tampere.
      The enforced move to the smaller Ratina Stadium in Tampere was a factor in deciding the order in which Finland’s home fixtures would be arranged. The “big” home matches against the Czech Republic, Holland, and Romania are all scheduled for next year, by which time the Olympic Stadium should be back in action.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  The Olympic Stadium: Built for an Olympics that did not happen (18.11.2003)
  IAAF demands additional roofing for Helsinki Olympic Stadium (20.9.2002)

See also:
  Helsinki City Board approves roofing of Olympic Stadium (5.11.2002)

Links:
  IAAF World Championships in Atlhletics, Helsinki 6-16 August, 2005
  Stadium Foundation

Helsingin Sanomat