Tampere Stadium
Tuesday 1 July 2008
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Tampere Stadium (©Football Association of Finland/Jussi Eskola)
Club: Tampere United
Capacity: 16,800
Matches: Three group matches, quarter-final, semi-final
Distance from Helsinki: 160km
Population: 210,000
Website: www.tampere.fi
The stadium
The Tampere Stadium was built in 1965 and stages several sports but its primary use is for football, and as well as the local club, Finland's national team have played there on a number of occasions. The record attendance was set by local club FC Ilves when 24,000 watched them play Juventus in the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1984. The stadium was renovated in 2004.
The club
Tampere United were formed in 1998 when a merger between FC Ilves and local rivals Tampereen Pallo-Veikot was abandoned but the new club took over Ilves's place in the second division. Within a year they were promoted and by 2001 Tampere were Finnish champions, repeating the feat in 2006 and 2007.
The city
Tampere has a metropolitan population of around 340,000 people; only Helsinki and Espoo are larger in Finland. Founded in 1775 by Gustav III of Sweden, it grew in the following century as a major industrial centre, often compared to Manchester. It was there in 1905 that the 'Red Declaration' was issued in a strike leading to democracy for Finland, then under Russian control, and it was in the city that VI Lenin first met Joseph Stalin. Although football is the No1 sport in Tampere, it is strongly challenged by ice hockey with Ilves and Tappara both successful teams. The city also boasts the large Särkänniemi amusement park.
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