The intention is to start the construction of the Suvilahti area in the late summer of 2023. Major events this summer ,Tuska and Flow, will be organised in the area normally in the same scale as in the previous years. Kaasutehtaankatu and Kaasutehtaankenttä, which function as an event field, and the Suvilahti Event Hub will be built in Suvilahti from the end of 2023 until 2025. The construction of Kaasutehtaankatu and Kaasutehtaankenttä is planned to begin in the autumn of 2023 and the construction of the Event Hub at the end of 2023. According to the plans, the entire area will be ready and in use by the summer of 2026 at the latest.
“The Suvilahti of the future will be home to a variety of events, not just big concerts, and the development of the area will make Helsinki an even more vibrant event city. In the future, it will be possible to organise a wide variety of indoor and outdoor events in Suvilahti throughout the year, from flea markets to festivals,” says Sanna Forsström, head of Helsinki’s brand and events unit.
Suvilahti Event Hub enables high-quality events throughout the year
Suvilahti Event Hub is a new event and entertainment centre to be built in the area, which offers excellent indoor facilities for events of different size and type throughout the year. The Event Hub’s event space can hold 5,000 spectators, and a total of approximately 50,000 floor sqm has been planned for the event block area for use as event, film and TV production, office, hotel and restaurant facilities. The building will also have a viewing staircase facing Kaasutehtaankenttä, from where people can watch the events arranged on the field or admire the scenery. The Event Hub is also easily accessible by foot, bike and public transport.
The event field (Energiakenttä) of the former gas factory area of Suvilahti will be available normally for events in 2024–2025. However, major festivals, such as Flow, will not fit in the area during the construction period, i.e. in the summer of 2024–2025. The City of Helsinki has been in contact with the event organisers in Suvilahti about the development plans of the area during the planning work. Measures have been taken to resolve the issue between the city and Tuska concerning arranging the Tuska festival in Suvilahti during the construction of the Event Hub.
“The city of Helsinki wants to strengthen the organisation and operating conditions of various events with the development of the Suvilahti Event Hub and event field. Suvilahti is a central, attractive and accessible event area. The starting point of our work is the entry in the Helsinki City Strategy 2017–2021 according to which the Suvilahti area will be developed into an internationally distinctive, permanent event area,” says Hannu Asikainen, project manager of the City of Helsinki’s Kalasatama area.
Helsinki City Strategy 2021–2025 also outlines a mindset to turn Suvilahti into an experience centre where culture and leisure are strongly present. Other experience centres in the city strategy are Eteläsatama, Makasiiniranta and Itäkeskus.
The City Council approved the revised detailed plan for the Suvilahti event block on 26 April 2023. The park plan for the adjacent Kaasutehtaankenttä and the street plan for Kaasutehtaankatu will be discussed in the Urban Environment Committee in June 2023.
It will be possible to organise various events on Kaasutehtaankenttä and use it as part Suvilahti’s major events in the future. Event infrastructure will be built on the field by the city. The field will function as a public area freely available to the residents of the area outside of events. The area of the former gas factory in Suvilahti will remain unchanged.
The skate park will have to be demolished – it will be replaced by a new skate ramp
Suvilahti’s DIY skate park is located by the new street of Kaasutehtaankatu, Kaasutehtaankenttä and the new event block, so it has to be demolished to give room for construction. After the completion of Kaasutehtaankatu, the bus lines to and from the direction of Vantaa will end at Kalasatama and the final stops of the lines will be on Kaasutehtaankatu.
A new, permanent skate park can only be built in the area left vacant from the Hanasaari power plant in the late 2020s. However, it is important for the city to enable skating in the area in the future as well, and before the construction of a permanent new skating area in Suvilahti, a temporary skate ramp will be constructed at the former parking area of Helen’s power plant in Hanasaari. Its useful life is estimated to be five years, and the city issues skateboarders a grant to set up the skating area. The matter has been agreed upon with the active members of the Suvilahti DIY skate park.
A multipurpose arena is not suitable for the Suvilahti area
Suvilahti Areena Oy has made an initiative to the city to build a multipurpose arena in Suvilahti. The initiative has been evaluated by the city on a cross-administrative basis, according to which the proposed multipurpose arena is not suitable for Suvilahti. A very large multipurpose arena would not fit in the area without the city having to give up the values of the built-up cultural environment and the goal of organising festivals and other large outdoor events in the area.
