The new Hippos of Jyväskylä

Our joint sports and wellbeing centre

Jyväskylä is the sports capital of Finland – the whole city is involved in exercise and its promotion. The new Hippos offers city residents and clubs a great setting for sports and professional training. The area’s current sports facilities are outdated and their renovation is not economically viable.

Most importantly, the new Hippos will provide facilities and training opportunities for a wider range of sports – nearly twenty of them. The number of sports slots available will increase by 50%, as the new sports facilities are modern and adaptable. At the same time, we will have more recreational opportunities for all users. Hobbies and club activities for children and young people will continue in the new premises at a reasonable price.

In addition to the new sports centre, skills centre and ice arena, an experiential sports park will be built in the outdoor area.

The appeal process that delayed the project was concluded in June 2025.
The project is now being advanced by Hippos Ky, a company jointly owned by the city and Sepos Oy. A decision to launch the project is expected during autumn 2025.

Internationally significant and unique Hippos

When completed, Hippos will be not only a meeting place for city’s residents, but also the Nordic region’s most significant centre for exercise, sports from hobby to top-level, health promotion, well-being and events. In addition to this, it will combine physical activity research and technological product development into an internationally significant entity.

With its year-round – and nearly round-the-clock – operations, Hippos will become a national and international attraction factor in Jyväskylä.

Sports Centre: Includes an indoor arena with seating for approximately 2,000 spectators, multi-purpose sports fields, a track and field arena, facilities for artistic gymnastics, combat sports, group exercise, and a coaching center.
Skills Centre: Facilities for research, education, offices, retail, restaurants, cafés, and meetings.
Ice arena: The ice arena will be extensively renovated and expanded, resulting in a sports seating capacity of nearly 6,000 and concert seating for over 7,000. The centre will also include three practice ice rinks—two for ice hockey and one for other ice sports.
Outdoor Activity Park
New Parking Facilities

Some of the training facilities in the new Hippos are designed to be flexible and adaptable. This enables a wider range of sports enthusiasts and clubs to rent and utilise the facilities.

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Floorball

Futsal

Basketball

Volleyball

Squash

Badminton

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Padel

Table tennis

Hockey

Figure skating

Rink ball

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Artistic gymnastics

Team gymnastics

Cheerleading

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Martial arts

Athletics

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Hippos will provide an internationally high-quality framework for research in the field, technological product development and business operations. Hippos will also be an inspiring environment for close innovation cooperation between businesses, educational institutions and the city. The operations created by the new premises will employ an estimated 600 people directly and over 300 indirectly.

Welfare companies

Research and teaching

Top sports and coaching

The total investment in the project is approximately €200 million.
The city will invest €23 million in its subsidiary, Jyväskylän Hippoksen Kiinteistöhallinto Oy, which will become a leasing tenant in the Sports and Ice Sports Centre.

The city has committed to purchasing €5 million worth of sports facility usage annually from Jyväskylän Hippoksen Kiinteistöhallinto Oy for local sports clubs over the next 30 years. This payment will be indexed to the cost-of-living index. Additionally, the city has committed to funding sports equipment for spaces used by sports clubs, up to €1 million per year.