The Latvian team may play in Mestis in the coming years.
Kiekko-Espoo and Imatran Ketterä played in the Mestis final season this season. Tomi Natri / AOP
The Mestis office, the second highest league in Finnish men’s hockey, has been looking across the Gulf of Finland to Estonia and Latvia for years.
Discussions on enlargement have been going on for a long time, but things got frozen after the corona pandemic began in 2020. With the lifting of interest rate restrictions, discussions have intensified again.
Of particular interest was the recent Latvian Hockey Association ad that “the Latvian team is likely to play at Finland’s second highest level in Mestis”.
Chief Operating Officer of Mestis Olli Aro however, it stalls.
– That’s their view. There is still a lot to be done here, Aro says.
There is enough work
The Latvian and Finnish hockey associations are currently cooperating quite a lot. Earlier this month, it became clear that three Latvian junior teams would come to Finland to play. In addition, the countries have submitted a joint application for next year’s World Championships for men.
According to Olli Aro, Mestis – which operates under the auspices of the Finnish Hockey Association – has the willingness and enthusiasm to expand into Latvia. However, he lists open issues: player contracts, insurance, logistics.
– There are no contentious issues. You just have to go through things so there will be no surprises, Aro says.
– I can’t even specify that a certain issue should be resolved. It should be decided first how enlargement would be possible and then because it would be possible. In this order.
How much does it cost?
Thus, in addition to Latvia, Estonia has also been involved in the enlargement discussions.
There is no more money in Mestis than the crabs, so the interesting question is how the teams plan to travel to Latvia if the team ever comes to the league.
Mestis has a reputation as a series where players have to do as much work as league players but with clearly lower pay. The puckers themselves call the 30 percent discount labels at grocery stores humorous Mestis stickers.
– You can even travel around the world with money, but of course this is where travel costs stay under control, Aro admits.
– We are also interested in the fact that travel is ecologically sustainable. However, I see it as possible. It is a shorter distance from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area to Riga or Tallinn than to Rovaniemi.
According to Aro, the game trips in Mestis are mainly made by bus. The aim of the match program is to build so that there are no individual long “stings”. If you leave the Helsinki metropolitan area to the north, the goal is to play in the same game trip in Kajaani and Rovaniemi, for example.
Growth from the south
According to Aro, Mestis is looking to the Baltics to expand its market.
– The idea is to develop hockey in Estonia and Latvia. We have more angles to this.
The coronavirus hit the finances of the Mestis clubs when ticket and ancillary sales disappeared altogether.
In the long run, however, according to Aro, the finances of the Mestis clubs are even at a record level.
– The series was growing for a couple of years before the pandemic. Corporate sales are still on a growth trajectory and the clubs’ combined performance is better than ever in the 21st century. When the operating result starts to be at a good level, then after saving and cost control, we will look at where to look for growth.