Innovation Olympic
dreams realized
T e newly renovated Helsinki Olympic Stadium will host over a million people each year. Compass Group and manufacturer Metos have leveraged their longstanding relationship to face the challenge of meeting those F&B needs, the operator’s Sari Salminen tells Juliet Martin
C 40 Aliworld
onsidered to be the crown jewel of Finnish functionalist architecture, the Helsinki Olympic Stadium fi rst opened in 1938 and hosted the 1952
Summer Olympics. In August 2020, following a four-year renovation, the stadium was reopened, now boasting an extension and new underground facilities to nearly double its size. Now, over a million people each year will meet at the stadium for sports, entertainment, tourism and business events.
Compass Group takes the reins Catering management experts Compass Group supported the hospitality installations as part of the renovation and now operate the stadium’s catering services, serving daily visitors, private events, sports events and other major events. “T ere are 41 F&B points with a total of about 160 checkout points,”
describes Sari Salminen, restaurant business manager at Compass Group. Depending on the event, hospitality services are managed from the restaurant kitchen and a central kitchen. Kitchen manager Arto Ruotsalainen is responsible for the design of food products, and kiosk products are also designed by event manager Jani Immonen. “Of course, we also utilize the Compass Group’s product development team,” says Salminen. T e scale of demand is highy variable.
“During non-event times, we have four to ten employees in the restaurant operations. At events, we have about 300 people at work, depending on the size and nature of the event,” Salminen explains. “T e maximum number of spectators in games is 36,000 and in concerts about 45,000 people. Depending on the event, food sales will be around 10-20% for viewers. Quite a number of factors aff ect this.” T e overall picture is a signifi cant catering
challenge. “T e success of logistics is one third of the success of foodservices,” Salminen emphasizes. “T e timely availability of products and a proactive response during the event is important.” A vital piece of this puzzle is having the right equipment and management. Enter Metos, a leading professional kitchen equipment
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