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Nokia Arena
Tampereen Kannen areena

The arena with the hotel on top in March 2022
Full name Tampere Central Multipurpose Arena
Former names Tampere Central Arena
UROS LIVE
Address Sorinkatu 3
Location Tampere, Finland
Owner Tampere Central Arena Real Estate Ltd
Operator Tampere Central Arena Ltd
Executive suites 52
Capacity 13,455 (ice hockey)
15,000 (concerts)
Field size 60 m (200 ft) by 28 m (92 ft)
Construction
Broke ground 2018
Opened December 3, 2021 (2021-12-03)[1]
Construction cost €124 million (estimated)
Architect Daniel Libeskind
Structural engineer Ramboll Finland
Tenants
Tappara (ice hockey)
Ilves (ice hockey)
Website
nokiaarena.fi/en/

Nokia Arena[2][3] (originally Tampere Deck Arena, Finnish: Tampereen Kannen areena) is an indoor arena in Tampere, Finland. It hosts ice hockey games and large cultural events, including the 2022 Men's World Championship. It is also the home arena of Ilves and Tappara of the SM-liiga. Its construction was approved by the City Council of Tampere on May 19, 2010.[4] The arena was officially opened on December 3, 2021.[1][5]

The NHL teams Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche have games at Nokia Arena in the 2022 NHL Global Series.[6]

Background[]

Nokia Arenan avajaiset 1

The opening hockey game at the arena.

After delays, the arena and the adjacent mixed use high-rise development got a final approval and construction began in January 2018. The final plan calls for a deck to be built over a railway line. This deck will have the multi-purpose arena (at least 13,455 seats[7]), offices, commercial development, housing, a hotel and a casino. The overall vision was designed by Daniel Libeskind.[8][9] The arena is expected to be complete by December 2021,[10] in time for the 2022 IIHF World Championship. The rest of the development is to be completed by 2024.[11] Casino Tampere will also open in connection with the arena,[12][13] and according to preliminary plans, the casino will employ about 80 people.[14]

In March 2020, it was announced that, under a ten-year sponsorship agreement with the UROS Group in Oulu, the arena will be called UROS LIVE.[15] The naming caused a small scale scandal due to name's overly masculine tone, as uros means "male" in Finnish.[16][17] The agreement was terminated on October 28, 2021 due to Uros Oy's financial problems, and the name of the arena was changed as a result.[18] Nokia Corporation was chosen as the new sponsor on November 19, 2021, and the arena was renamed as Nokia Arena.[2][3]

The first scheduled events in the arena were the local matches of the Finnish Championship League on 3 and 4 December 2021. It was originally scheduled to open on 15 December,[19] but later the official opening was brought forward to 3 December.[1]

Transport[]

Nokia Arena is easily accessible by public transport, being located 600 meters from the Tampere central railway station and 350 meters from the long-distance bus station. The nearest stops on the Tampere tramway are also approximately 600 and 350 meters away, for lines 3 and 1 respectively. Several local bus routes run on the nearby streets. During the 2021–22 Liiga season, hockey game tickets are also valid tickets for the buses, trams and trains of Nysse, the regional transport authority.

For private cars, there are few parking spaces at the arena but several parking facilities are available nearby. Before and after major events, the streets around the arena may be closed to vehicular traffic.

See also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Tämä on kaikille se eka kerta" – näin Tampereen liikenne muuttuu, kun 13 000 ihmistä menee uudelle areenalle perjantainaYLE (in Finnish)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Finnish Tampere Deck Arena is now Nokia Arena – GlobalNewswire
  3. 3.0 3.1 Tampere Deck Arena Becomes Nokia Arena – Nokiamob.net
  4. Tampereen monitoimiareena -hanke läpi myös valtuustossa (fi). Rakennuslehti (May 20, 2010).
  5. Nokia-areena avataan perjantaina, mutta sen seisomakatsomo ei toimi vieläkään: ”Pomppiminen ja jatkuva seisominen on valitettavasti kielletty”Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish)
  6. Rosen, Dan. "Predators-Sharks, Avalanche-Blue Jackets to play in NHL Global Series", National Hockey League, April 22, 2022. 
  7. Tampere, Finland.
  8. Fazzare, Elizabeth (December 16, 2021). "Daniel Libeskind’s Design in Finland Is the World’s Most Exciting New Stadium". Architectural Digest. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  9. Tampereen Kannen alue on arkkitehti Daniel Libeskindin mielestä todellinen 2000-luvun hanke – "Uskon, että alueesta tulee ikoninen ja kiinnostava"YLE (in Finnish)
  10. Tampereen areena valmistuu joulukuussa 2021 (fi). YLE (August 26, 2020).
  11. Tampereen Kannen ja areenan työt käynnissä – Lue tästä kaikki tulevien vuosien suurimmasta rakennushankkeesta (fi). Aamulehti (October 2, 2017).
  12. Nurmi, Teemu (June 30, 2021). Tällainen on uusi Casino Tampere – "Elokuvista tulleet mielikuvat ovat vääriä...", James Bondkin tarvitsisi pian kasinokortin (fi). Tamperelainen.
  13. Korte, Henriikka (October 22, 2021). Tampereella avaa pian ovensa kaupungin ensimmäinen kasino – Katso tuoreet kuvat työmaalta: ”Ei haluta tehdä tästä mitään paheellista” (fi). Aamulehti.
  14. Ruissalo, Pekka (December 15, 2021). Lapland Hotels Arena on hienosäätöjä vaille valmis – "Tapahtumahotelli kiinnostaa asiakkaita" (fi). Tamperelainen.
  15. Tampere Deck Arena lands Uros as naming-rights sponsor (March 6, 2020).
  16. Men only? Tampere's new arena gets a very masculine name | News Now Finland (en-GB) (2020-03-05).
  17. New €125 million leisure complex in Tampere to be named 'UROS Live' attracts online mockery and criticism (en-gb).
  18. Yle (28 October 2021). Uros oy sai potkut – Tampereen areena jatkaa nimellä Tampereen Kannen areena. yle.fi. yle.fi.
  19. Tampereen areena rasitti rakennusyhtiö SRV:n tulosta: aikataulun kiinni kiriminen aiheutti lisäkustannuksia (October 28, 2021).

External links[]

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