The Jyväskylä Rally, and particularly the Business Rally's Sport Tech Day and Investor Day, attracted sports and business leaders and experts to Jyväskylä to learn more about, among other things, the rapidly developing Hippos project. Iris Córdoba, CEO of the Global Sports Innovation Center (GSIC), and Aitor Jimenez, Director of Innovation, Technology and New Business at Baskonia-Alavés Group, were also given a guided tour of the Hippos construction site.
During the visit, the CEO of Jyväskylän Hippoksen Kiinteistöhallinto Oy, Ville Niskakangas presented the facilities currently under construction, including the Hippos parking facility, sports center, and competence center. The visitors also learned about the progress of the ice sports center and the location of the new training ice rinks. As the guests represent the fields of sports business growth and internationalization, the competence center and its future activities generated considerable interest as a potential platform for future collaboration.
At Sport Tech Day, the City of Jyväskylä announced its membership in the Global Sports Innovation Center (GSIC). Founded in 2015, GSIC is an international non-profit network dedicated to advancing innovation in the sports industry and building strong collaborative ecosystems. GSIC brings together sports organizations, research institutions, companies, and technology providers to develop solutions to current and future challenges in the sector. Collaboration with GSIC is an excellent fit for the current development phase of the Hippos growth and RDI ecosystem.
Baskonia-Alavés Group is developing a sports hub in Vitoria, Northern Spain, with many similarities to Hippos. The visit identified several areas of mutual interest and may open opportunities for future collaboration to support growth, innovation, and internationalization in the sports and sports business sectors.
During Sport Tech Day on 31 July, Aitor Jimenez awarded one of the startup companies pitching on stage, MoniCardi, with an opportunity to cooperate with The Faktory, an innovation and business development center for sports and physical activity established in 2022. The Faktory promotes the creation of new business opportunities, technologies, and startups, while bringing together companies, researchers, investors, and sports organizations to develop future-oriented solutions for sport, health, and wellbeing.
