City of Tampere: Hockey Comes Home in 100 Days

original Local hockey legends Lasse Oksanen (left) and Ville Nieminen (right) on the ice of Lake Näsijärvi in Tampere. Oksanen has scored most international goals (101) for Team Finland. Nieminen won NHL Stanley Cup with Colorado Avalanche in 2001. (Photo: Business Wire)

Local hockey legends Lasse Oksanen (left) and Ville Nieminen (right) on the ice of Lake Näsijärvi in Tampere. Oksanen has scored most international goals (101) for Team Finland. Nieminen won NHL Stanley Cup with Colorado Avalanche in 2001. (Photo: Business Wire)

TAMPERE, Finland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--City of Tampere is all set to welcome ice hockey back home in 100 days, when men’s 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships face-off in Finland’s “Capital of Hockey”. The tournament will be played on May 13-29, 2022. The most loved sport in Finland returns to its roots, but to a whole new house, as the games in Tampere will be played at brand new Tampere Deck and Arena, Europe’s leading multi-purpose venue.

A unique entertainment venue also cited as “Madison Square Garden of Finland” is built exceptionally above the railway tracks at the very heart of Tampere.

The tournament is co-hosted by Tampere and Helsinki, but all the final games will be played in Tampere, roughly one and half hour train ride northwest from the capital.

Tampere is one of the fastest-growing cities in Finland, and its unique atmosphere has assured Finns to vote Tampere the most desired city in Finland year by year.

The City of Tampere is prepared to walk the extra miles needed to ensure a safe event regarding the coronavirus.

- We cannot wait for the fans to arrive. There is so much to see and experience in Tampere, which is also known as the Sauna Capital of the World, says Anna-Kaisa Ikonen, Mayor of Tampere.

- We will organize an unforgettable tournament in 100 days.

Hundred years of hockey history

Tampere was the first city in Finland to host IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in 1965.

The history of hockey in Tampere goes further back, almost 100 years, to 1927 exactly.

A local leather factory director Yrjö Salminen had brought hockey equipment from Canada and took them on the ice of a local lake.

- “Game on, boys!”, he said the legendary words as he threw the sticks and pucks for local bandy and baseball players to try them out.

The first official hockey match was later played in Tampere, followed by the first artificial skating rink and the first indoor ice rink in following decades.

Tampere, the third largest city in Finland with approximately 245 000 inhabitants, is also the home of Finnish Ice Hockey Museum and Hockey Hall of Fame Finland.

Links:

2022 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Visit Tampere

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/daniel-libeskinds-design-finland-worlds-most-exciting-new-stadium