The city of Jyväskylä is planning a five million euro renovation of the jumping hills, which are used by only 30-40 people. City manager Timo Koivisto is now explaining how such an outcome has been reached.
In Laajavuori, there is a ski jumping hill named after Matti Nykänen, which required renovation. Vesa Pöppönen / All Over Press
– I emphasize that no decisions have been made yet, Mayor of Jyväskylä Timo Koivisto says right at the beginning of the call.
The topic is the jumping hills of Jyväskylä’s Laajavuori, for which the city has planned a five million euro renovation. It will work out From the budget of the city of Jyväskylä.
– In the condition surveys, it was found that there is a need for basic repairs, Koivisto says.
Matti Pullin according to the estimate, renewing the hill would cost the city 1.5 million euros. Matti Nykänen the basic repair of the hill would cost three million. In addition, another 500,000 euros would be returned to the downhill slopes of the Mäkikeskus.
The chairman of the Jyväskylä Ski Club’s mountain section Jouni Lappalainen according to Matti Nykänen, 5–10 jumpers regularly use the hill. Matti Pullin Mäkeka 10–15.
According to the man, there are a total of 30–40 ski jumping enthusiasts in Jyväskylä.
Why does the city want to invest a huge sum in the hobby of such a small group?
“Good question”
The money invested in Jumpyrimäki has sparked a discussion message service in X. Koivisto understands this well, although he has not yet received feedback.
– It is quite true that ski jumping is one of those sports where the price of investment and maintenance costs per user is quite high.
According to the man, even in the city’s management ladder, one often has to think a lot about whether it should be preferred to invest only in those sports places where there are a lot of users.
– But then the ski jumping slopes would be abandoned, and we have the idea that these are an essential part of the sports city’s range of performance venues.
In Koivisto’s opinion, there must be a place in Jyväskylä for ski jumping. And there are also Olympic-level users of jumping hills in the city, such as Eero Hirvonen.
– You can’t always go by just how many enthusiasts there are, even though that is a very valid argument.
The story continues after the picture.
The hills of Laajavuori are part of the skyline and cultural history of the city of Jyväskylä. Mika Rinne
Nykänen’s silhouette
Koivisto also points out that Matti Nykänen’s hill essentially belongs to the skyline of the city of Jyväskylä. If the hills were not renovated, they should be demolished.
And that would only make a fuss. It was already seen at the beginning of the 2000s, when savings measures were considered in Jyväskylä. In the preliminary discussions, the demolition of Matti Nykänen’s hill came up as one option.
– With that idea, we got all the way to Central European magazines. It was written there that who could be so crazy as to even think like that, Koivisto recalls.
Even demolishing the hill would be an expensive job.
– Yes, it is at least a six-figure sum, even a seven-figure sum.
Since something has to be done about the pits in any case, the alternative is to pay a huge sum to dismantle them or invest millions in renovating the pits.
– I think the latter is a more reasonable option, Koivisto states and continues.
– Jyväskylä also has a national responsibility here. In addition to Jyväskylä, we only have Lahti, Kuopio and Rovaniemi, where ski jumping can be enjoyed reasonably.
When will the final decisions be made on the renovation of the hills?
– Probably in the next few years. At Matti Pulli Mäki, there is an extension of a few years on how long you can jump from there before something is done to it.