Timo Sivula, Kokkolan Urheilupuisto’s Managing Director, carried out negotiations with several companies during the tender phase. It is a demanding project, which certainly had an impact on the number of entries. Contract negotiations will be held with the alliances that submitted their notifications of participation in March and April. The negotiations will include two rounds, during which the applicants’ ability to carry out the project as planned will be assessed. The decision on the alliance will be made on 14 April. The final bids will be received in May, meaning that the alliance must be selected before the summer.
Kokkolan Urheilupuisto Oy ranks the candidates, and an agreement will be signed with the alliance that receives the best score. The first task for the winner will be to draw up a binding project plan and budget. The project plan and budget will be submitted to the City Board and the City Council. The City Council either approves or rejects the proposal.
The actual design phase is planned to start in autumn 2022, and the goal is for the shovel to start digging and construction to begin a year later. The sports park is scheduled to be completed in 2025, but the commissioning should begin in stages as early as 2024.
Proposals concerning the plans can be submitted until next autumn. So now is the time to come forward and offer opinions on the plans that have been made.
The building complex outlined in the approved concept will include two covered training ice rinks and indoor running tracks, an ice rink, which will be renovated to meet modern requirements, renovation of the listed part of the sports hall with a basketball court and a refurbished gym, and a new large indoor arena.
The cost of the project is estimated at EUR 50 million. The exact budget will be known once the alliance draws up the project plan and budget in May. Feedback from the candidates shows that this cost estimate will cover the entire project. It has also been encouraging to hear that the alliance candidates find the budget realistic for a project of this size. The focus in the coming months will be on contract negotiations with the candidates. We will announce the decision on the alliance in mid-April.
