Oulunkylä Sports Park is one of the most notable sports parks in Helsinki thanks to its diversity and good accessibility. The sports park includes an artificial ice rink, a training ice arena, an athletics field, a full-sized football pitch and a training pitch for football, among other things. The sports park is the home ground of the football club IF Gnistan.
At Gnistan's initiative, planning has begun for a new stadium with a capacity of 4,500–8,000 spectators at the sports park. The stadium would provide a high-quality setting for national and international football matches and other major events. In addition, facilities are being planned for the stadium for new services. The City, too, has identified the need for a new major league stadium.
The City began drafting a new detailed plan for the sports park in the spring of 2025. The draft plan was on public display in the spring of 2026 and will be discussed by the Urban Environment Committee on Tuesday 9 June.
In addition to the stadium, the City will also develop the sports fields in the park to continue to allow for the competitions and activities of local football clubs, the physical education activities of schools and the recreation and exercise activities of residents. Housing is planned for around 500 new residents along Hirsipadontie and Käskynhaltijantie. The buildings would be 5–7 storeys high. The construction of the stadium will receive funding from revenue generated by the housing development.
In order to facilitate the planning and implementation of the stadium and housing projects, a development reservation is proposed for OUP Stadion Oy. OUP Stadion Oy is a development company established for this project and a subsidiary of Stephen Industries Inc Oy. Stephen Industries is a Finnish family investment company and the majority owner of IF Gnistan Oy. The Urban Environment Committee will discuss the development reservation at its meeting on Tuesday 9 June. The reservation proposal will then be forwarded to the City Board.
The City will amend the local detailed plan through a collaborative planning process with the project. The aim is to prepare a plan proposal during this year, to be published in early 2027. The revised plan proposal is set to be submitted to the Urban Environment Committee in early summer 2027, after which the plan will be submitted to the City Council for processing, probably in late 2027. If the plan is approved, construction can begin once the detailed plan is final.