The Basketball Holding Company, a leading joint-stock business organization that manages the Vilnius-based Wolves Twinsbet and Dubai-based Sandstorm Shooters basketball clubs, has recently become a co-owner of the Helsinki Seagulls, a team competing in Finland’s top-tier league, Korisliiga.
Founded in 2013, the Helsinki Seagulls have achieved unprecedented success over the last two seasons, claiming the national championship title in 2023 and finishing as runners-up in 2024. Over the course of more than a decade, the Seagulls have consistently demonstrated their strength, winning four Korisliiga bronze medals and lifting the Finnish Cup four times (2020-2022, 2024).
Rimantas Kaukėnas, President of Basketball Holding Company, expressed confidence in the growing prominence of Finnish basketball, emphasizing the strategic value of the investment.
“We are pleased to expand our portfolio of managed clubs to include the Seagulls, one of the most successful Finnish basketball teams in recent years. Basketball in Finland is currently experiencing tremendous growth, with public interest rising rapidly. This was clearly evident last summer when the national teams of Lithuania and Finland played in a packed arena in Tampere. We recognize this growth, and we see the public sector’s efforts to promote basketball among children and youth. Given these developments, we also see significant business opportunities in Finland,” said one of the company’s managers.
Janne Kulvik, a current co-owner of the Seagulls, is optimistic that the partnership will help the club progress.
“This new partnership is extremely important for the future of the Seagulls club. I am confident that the expertise, experience, and resources of the Basketball Holding Company in sports management will open up new opportunities for both the club and its fans. Currently, our growth is limited by the small venue of Töölö Gym, which only accommodates 1,600 spectators and is therefore unsuitable for European tournaments,” Kulvik stated.
Kaukėnas acknowledged that the club’s venue is a significant obstacle to its development but expressed hope that this issue would be resolved with the support of Helsinki City Council leaders.
“Helsinki has a 15,000-capacity arena that is currently unused. However, city council leaders have already started the process of reclaiming the arena for public use from its current owners. We hope that this situation will be resolved soon, allowing the Seagulls to finally make their debut in European tournaments. This would be a critical step for this rapidly growing basketball organization,” said Kaukėnas.
Following its acquisition of a stake in the Helsinki Seagulls club, the Basketball Holding Company continues to pursue its strategy of selling basketball management and development products in European and Middle Eastern cities with high purchasing power but without teams competing in European tournaments.
