Lahti Pelicans were sued

The ice hockey club Lahti Pelicans is running in the rink, but the office side is more confused.

The Pelicans’ weak financial situation has been in the news several times in recent years, and the CEO piled up Lauri Pöyhönen in front has been growing on the basis of public information.

Several parties are collecting their receivables from Pelicans, and for example, Lahten Asunnot oy, the largest landlord in Lahti, submitted a subpoena application to the Kymenlaakso district court in February.

According to Lahti Apartments, between September 2024 and January 2025, Pelicans has not paid a good 6,000 euros in rent. In addition to the rent, Lahten Asunnot demands that Pelicans pay default interest and court costs.

The district court gave the Pelicans 21 days to file a response. Kymenlaakso district court was informed that there has been no response.

Iltalehti asked Pelicans CEO Pöyhö about it.

A summons has been sent to the Kymenlaakso district court in a dispute. Related to rental apartments in Lahti. According to it, you have not paid the rent. What is the situation here?

– I have to find out about it before I can comment. I would argue that in that respect it is okay. Kymenlaakso feels a little special, because at least I don’t have any information about it at the moment, Pöyhönen said.

There was a 21-day response period, and the district court was informed that the Pelicans’ response has not been received.

– As I said, there is no information whether we have heard of something like this. Then it is quite difficult to answer these questions. If someone from there had been in touch, then I would have been aware.

– Just thank you for calling. I have to check the situation to see what it is. Kymenlaakso – we are right there on the Kotka-Kouvola axis, Pöyhönen said.

After that, Iltalehti asked the Kymenlaakso district court about the matter.

– The claimant has notified this by phone on March 2, the Kymenlaakso district court said.

So the matter has been brought to Pelicans’ attention at the beginning of March?

– Yes.

Although both parties are from Lahti, the case is pending in the Kymenlaakso district court, because cases from the Lahti area are also heard there in summary cases.

I disagree again

Iltalehti and the CEO of Pelicans were in contact again on Monday.

At this point, Pöyhönen also said that he had been in contact with the Kymenlaakso district court.

– It’s a mysterious thing, I must say. I then even left a call request for the case manager. These are 1.5–2 year old things that have been open and somehow got there.

– He’s a bit of a weird dude. We had not been notified of that.

Are the bills paid now?

– Well, now we will find out about our ledgers, because they are a year and a half old. Especially since we haven’t received any reminders or anything else.

This is not the first time that Pöyhönen, the Lahti Pelicans and the district court disagree about who knows and what.

In October 2025, the Kymenlaakso district court gave a unilateral verdict in a case where Mehiläinen, which offers medical and health services, demanded payments from Pelicans.

Pelicans later applied to the Päijät-Häme district court for recovery and demanded that the verdict be annulled and the matter be reheard.

According to the Pelicans, it had not been served with the subpoena application and was not aware of the pending litigation before issuing the default judgment.

The district court of Päijät-Häme came to a different position.

– From the documents submitted by the Kymenlaakso district court, it appears that on 19 September 2025, the bailiff has issued a summons in the case of -– to the company’s representative Lauri Pöyhönen by telephone notification.

The Pelicans’ application for reinstatement was dismissed.

A lot of debt

For years, Pelicans has not had enough money in the cash register to pay bills on time.

By Monday, the amount of open payment delays recorded in the debt collection company Intrum’s payment behavior report had exploded to just under 180,000 euros.

The reading corresponding to the end of the year was a few tens of thousands.

CEO Pöyhönen did not take a position on whether the Pelicans’ situation has gotten weaker.

– There has been a lot of chatter with the cash register, but everything has been paid, although there have unfortunately been some small delays.

The interesting question for Kiekkoväe is whether there is a threat of bankruptcy.

– It is not, Pöyhönen assured.

The Ice Hockey Championship League grants clubs a league license every year, which is a requirement for playing in the main league.

The terms of the league license state that the license application can be rejected on financial grounds, for example, if “the club has a significant amount of overdue purchase or other debts”.

– The league license has been obtained and these matters have been dealt with, Pöyhönen said.

The only solution?

Analyst Ari Rajala assessed to Iltalehte in October that the Pelicans are in a Catalan spiral.

– When the money situation is tight, it has led to not being able to pay invoices on time, which is reflected in payment defaults. Usually, payment defaults lead to a decrease in the company’s ability to get credit or payment time to pay invoices, which in turn tightens the willingness to pay even more, Rajala explained.

Rajala saw only one solution to the acute problem: going into the owners’ pockets.

– After all, there are also “money men” in the board and apparently also as owners, such as Valtteri Bottas and Sipe Santa ClausRajala said.

Lahti’s puck pride finished 11th in the regular season this season and made a surprise in the opening round of the playoffs by knocking out sixth-ranked JYP with a 3–0 match win.

In the semifinals, Pelicans will fight against Koovola’s KooKoo, the second runner-up in the regular season.

The Pelicans played in the finals in the spring of 2023 and 2024. Last season there was a collapse, and the club struggled for its place in the series against the Jokers in the qualifiers.