Garden Helsinki chairman says he only mentioned project in passing to PM Orpo

Jan Vapaavuori, chairman of the Garden Helsinki arena project company and a politician from the National Coalition Party, stated he only "in passing" discussed the project with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

Opposition parties have recently questioned whether Orpo, also from the National Coalition Party, arranged state funding for his party colleague Vapaavuori's project, bypassing normal decision-making processes. The government decided on a conditional investment support of 35 million euros during its spring 2025 economic negotiations.

Vapaavuori told Helsingin Sanomat that he first presented the need for state support to finance ministry officials in January 2024, including to State Secretary Juha Majanen and budget manager Mika Niemelä. At the time, Vapaavuori, a former minister and mayor of Helsinki, was a board member of Garden Helsinki.

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I have not negotiated with Orpo about this at all. I have mentioned this project in passing in some context, but mainly dealt with finance ministry officials and then to some extent with the Prime Minister's office.

He later informed the Prime Minister's office about the project. The government's decision from last year resurfaced in public discussion when Vantaan Sanomat attempted to clarify how the support decision was made, but found no answers. Opposition MPs have since submitted written questions to the government.

Responding to direct questions, Vapaavuori denied negotiating the support directly with Orpo. "I have not negotiated with Orpo about this at all. I have mentioned this project in passing in some context, but mainly dealt with finance ministry officials and then to some extent with the Prime Minister's office," he said. He clarified that "in passing" meant mentioning it when meeting Orpo in various contexts, but stated that discussions primarily concerned other matters. Vapaavuori noted that he mentioned the project to Orpo long after speaking with the finance ministry, but could not recall the exact timing due to frequent meetings.

Vapaavuori also stated his original intention was not to have the decision made during the spring 2025 economic review session. However, the session proved to be the right venue for such a project. Before the review, Vapaavuori had provided materials about the project to Orpo's office. According to HS sources, the National Coalition Party specifically raised the Garden Helsinki state support during party negotiations, as part of its economic and employment goals. One government source indicated that the National Coalition Party used its "discretionary leeway" in the spring 2025 negotiations for the Helsinki Garden support, suggesting parties agreed to allocate a certain amount of funding to their preferred projects.

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It means that when I meet the Prime Minister in various contexts anyway, this has been mentioned. But mainly we have discussed other matters.