In Kemi, the renovation of two different space alternatives for the use of the theater has been investigated. The mayor’s proposal will be considered by the city council, which will meet in an extraordinary meeting on Monday.
The working group appointed by the Kemi city government has compared the placement of the theater in addition to the bank property to Kemi’s year-round snow castle. The working group did not take a position on the matter, but ended up just comparing alternatives.
The Swede justifies his performance by saying that placing the theater in the snow castle premises would hinder Kemi’s tourism. The city manager mentions in his presentation that Kemin Matkailu is the company with the biggest profit potential among the city’s group companies.
In the snow castle option, the cold room located in the year-round snow castle building would be renovated into a theater space.
It would also be cheaper to renovate the bank’s premises, but a smaller grandstand would reduce box office revenue.
According to the report, the snow castle building would also have advantages in terms of parking and service facilities. The building has, among other things, new restaurant and cafe premises.
The Swede also mentions the building’s advantages as the fact that in that option the theater would pay rent to Kemi tourism, which is a subsidiary owned by the city.
The bank’s real estate is owned by an entity outside the city, in which case the rental income would also be diverted outside the city.
The renovation costs of the buildings are planned to be transferred as part of the rent of the future premises, which the theater would reduce in the long term.
Ruotsalainen considers the best solution for the theater to be the construction of a new space in connection with the snow castle building, but states in his presentation that such a thing cannot be afforded, at least at the moment.
The employees of the theater have expressed their hope that a decision on permanent premises would be made as soon as possible, so that the operation could continue and the operation of the theater could be transferred to the Meri-Lap theater association as planned at the turn of the year.
Kemi tourism has objected to the use of part of the snow castle building as a theater.
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