Perspective: Talks of Pelicans' bankruptcy are grossly exaggerated

There has been much talk about Pelicans’ grim financial situation over the summer. For those closely following the Lahti club, Pelicans’ money troubles have come as no surprise. In recent years, money has been burned, and financial management has been at an unprofessional, perhaps even illegally poor level.

Within Pelicans, the issue has been downplayed for a long time, even though an occasional viewer can see that even ice advertisements cannot be sold. At the same time, box customers are enjoying their time in the arena very well. The only flaw in the service provided by Pelicans is that the bill is never heard unless one calls to follow up and specifically requests it.

Now, new winds are blowing in the Lahti club. Pelicans has a new CEO, Juuso Pulliainen, who has cleaned the slate properly. Poor practices have been put to an end, and the culture of hush-hush has ceased. Difficulties have been discussed exceptionally openly, and for that, Pulliainen deserves a big round of applause.

However, Pulliainen does receive some criticism. He has not managed to communicate clearly enough about the state of the club.

In various media outlets, there have been reports over the summer and fall that Pelicans is close to bankruptcy. This has never been the case at any point. The club’s finances have been in serious disarray and poorly managed, but that does not automatically mean bankruptcy. In the business world, it is completely normal for owners to have to inject capital into their companies during tough times. And if the owners do not have the enthusiasm or resources for this, money can be obtained through other means, such as bringing in a completely new owner.

If the old ownership base were not interested in putting more money at stake, and if new investments could not be obtained from outside, only at that point could one speak of a bankruptcy threat.

The fear of bankruptcy is a vicious disease, and it spreads quickly. It remains to be seen whether it will affect Pelicans’ sales and business operations in the future.