Changes to the prices of Espoo’s Sports and Exercise Services in autumn 2024 and at the beginning of 2025

The general VAT rate will increase from 24% to 25.5% from 1 September 2024. In April 2024, the Finnish Government made a decision to increase the general VAT rate. The Parliament approved the law in June 2024.

The new VAT rate will only be applied to goods and services that have been subject to a VAT rate of 24%. The increase, which will enter into force in September, will not apply to goods and services with a VAT rate of 10% or 14%, such as sports services. The increase applies to wristband fees for swimming halls and gyms, towels rented from swimming halls and the fees for storage of boats, winter storage of boats, Ämmäsmäki boat storage and other boat related fees, among other things.  With regard to the facilities managed by the Sports and Exercise Services, the increase in the VAT rate will apply to the prices of parking facilities, cafeterias and meeting rooms, among other things.

See information by the Sports and Exercise Committee (in Finnish).

Espoo’s Sports and Exercise Committee decides on the pricing and basis of payment for the use of the facilities of the Sports and Exercise Unit. In a fiscal year, fees are collected in the form of entrance fees for swimming pools, fees for the use of sports facilities and fees for summer and winter storage of boats in order to meet the fee revenue target. Other smaller fees are raised from, for example, instructed exercise activities and archipelago boat traffic.

In April 2024, the Sports and Exercise Committee reviewed the fee revenues of Sports and Exercise and decided on an increase in fee revenues. The changes to the prices will come into force from the beginning of 2025. The fee revenue increases are part of the city-wide Financially Sustainable Espoo programme, the aim of which is to improve the financial balance of the city. The price increases for leisure activities for children and young people will be very moderate. The prices for archipelago boat traffic and instructed exercise activities will remain unchanged.

The price changes will apply to, for example, the prices of boat berths, winter storage of boats and other boat related fees as well as the rent of outdoor sports fields and school sports halls in Espoo for adults. The winter pricing for heated artificial turfs will change in respect of all ages.

The price increase for swimming pool and gym fees will be around 10% across the board. For example, the one-time fee for adults in swimming pools will be €6.5 after the price increases, instead of the current €6.

Updated 18.12.2024: The +68 Sports Wristband will remain free of charge from the beginning of 2025. What is new is that once downloaded, the wristband is valid for one year at a time. More information can be found here.

The most notable change in the price changes for swimming pools and gyms will be that the +68 sports wristband will cost €20 per year as of the beginning of 2025. The sports wristband is free until the end of 2024. More information on the Sports wristband can be found here.

The other benefits of the +68 sports wristband will remain, and the friend service will continue to be free of charge. More information on the benefits and friend service can be found here. In the case of swimming pools, one of the factors behind the introduction of a fee for the sports wristband is an increase in services thanks to the digital Hydrohex service. The equipment of gyms has also been improved.

Sports Director Martti Merra says that Espoo has been a pioneer in the country by offering the possibility to swim for free with the +68 wristband. Numerous studies have found that a small fee increases rather than decreases the use of services.

“The Committee did not want to increase the fees for children’s and young people’s leisure activities any further, which would certainly have been an unfortunate option. In my opinion, Espoo is still a pioneer as the same possibility in the rest of Finland costs between €60 and €120 per year and the supply of wristbands is also more abundant than in the rest of the country,” says Merra.

Espoo’s instructed exercise services will continue to organise exercise groups that are completely free of charge and open to all. You can browse the instructed exercise groups at: espoo.fi/ohjattuliikunta (in Finnish). 

The updated prices for swimming halls can be found here.

The updated prices for gyms can be found here.

Further information on the +68 Sports wristband can be found here. 

Contact details:

Questions regarding Facilities and Areas

Jarmo Ikävalko
Manager of Sports Services (Facilities and Areas)
+358 50 5535649
jarmo.ikavalko@espoo.fi

Questions regarding Sports and Exercise Services

Markku Sistonen
Manager of Sports Services (Sports and Exercise Services)
+358 46 8773884
markku.sistonen@espoo.fi