HELSINKI - THE FINNAIR STADIUM - CAPACITY:10,300 ALL SEATER
About the Finnair Stadium The Finnair Stadium is the most modern stadium in Finland, having been constructed as a football only stadium in 1999. It is located next door to the Olympic Stadium, which hosted the 1952 Summer Games, and is still used for the national team.
The stadium is very similar in design and feel to Tallinn’s Le Coq Arena with one large two tier main stand (complete with a roof designed to look like a pair of wings), and three smaller single tier stands that wrap around to form a closed stadium. Views are excellent – unobstructed and close to the pitch to enjoy the action. The main stand also has heaters in the roof that keep you warm when temperatures drop at night, as well as heated seats.
The stadium is one of the grounds being used as part of the UEFA trial with artificial pitches. The stadium hosted the FIFA U-17 World Championships in 2003 when Brazil beat Spain 1-0.
Who plays there? The stadium is home to Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi Helsinki, more commonly known as HJK. The club are without a doubt Finland’s biggest club in terms of success on the field, as well as support off it. They are also the only Finnish team who have ever qualified for the Champions League Group Stages when in 1998-99 they were drawn in a group with Benfica, PSV Eindhoven and Kaiserslautern. A return of 5 points from their 6 games was not enough to ensure UEFA Cup qualification, but it was enough to save any embarrassment – especially as they recorded a famous win in the home game to Benfica, and sold out the Olympic Stadium for the defeat against PSV Eindhoven. However, their greatest European night is still the home leg European Cup victory versus Liverpool in the 1980’s.
The club were originally formed in 1907 and soon began to dominate Finnish football, recording 7 Championship victories in 14 years before the championship reverted to a league base structure. Since 1936 they have won a further 14 Championships, as well as 11 domestic cups. However, more recently they have had to console themselves with a single Finnish Cup victory in 2006 when they beat KPV 1-0 and thus qualifying for this seasons UEFA Cup 1st round.
They last won the championship in 2003, and have had to console themselves with 2nd place for the past few seasons. In 2004 the club took over local rivals FC Jokerit. In 2006 they finished behind Tampere United. The club are managed by Keith Armstrong, who started off his career as a player with Sunderland but played almost his entire career in Finland. HJK can count Mikael Forssell, Shefki Kuqi, Antti Niemi and Jari Litmanen as former players. The current squad is made up almost exclusively of Finnish players, although due to a coaching agreement with a club in Sierra Leone they have a trio of players from Africa.
The stadium is also occasionally used by the National team instead of the Olympic Stadium next door when the opponents are not too attractive. The last occasion they played here was versus Armenia in a European Championship qualifying match in November 2006.
How to get there The stadium is located next to the Olympic Stadium in the north of the city centre – around about 3km from the water’s edge. The stadium is easily walk able from the centre – simply follow Mannerheininte northwards past the lake on your right and after a good 20 minute walk you will see the stadium straight ahead. Alternatively use Tram 7A, 3T or 3b from central station to Aurora Hospital stop – which is a 2 minute walk from the stadium.
For a better view of football in Helsinki go to Footiemap.com to view their excellent Football map of Helsinki.
Getting a ticket Finnish football is comparable in terms of attendances to the English 2nd Division. The average attendance is 2,900 – although HJK are the best supported team in the league with an average of 5,600. They do occasionally sell out their matches – so it is prudent to book ahead.
The club use Lippupalvelu (http://www.lippupalvelu.fi) which is a Ticketmaster company to sell their seats. Tickets go on sale around 2 months before the game, and you are asked to pick them up on the day of the game from the ticket office at the Arena. Tickets for the main stand are €20, and for the family stand €12 (children €5).
HELSINKI - THE OLYMPIA STADION - CAPACITY: 42,062 All Seater
About the Olympia Stadion The Helsinki Olympic Stadium,located in the Töölö district about 2 km from the center of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used for hosting sports events and big concerts. The stadium is best known for being the center of activities in the 1952 Summer Olympics. It was built however to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were moved from Tokyo to Helsinki before being cancelled due to World War 2. The stadium was also the venue for the first World Athletics Championships in 1983 as well as for the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. It is also the home stadium of the Finland national football team.
Construction of the Olympic Stadium began in 1934 and it was completed in 1938. The stadium was completely modernized in 1990–1994 and also renovated just before the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. Its spectator capacity was at its maximum during the 1952 Summer Olympics with over 70,000 spectator places. Nowadays the stadium has 40,000 spectator places. The tower of the stadium, a distinct landmark with a height of 72 m, is open for visitors and offers impressive views over Helsinki.
The stadium is located a stone's throw from the Finnair Arena.
For a better view of football in Helsinki go to Footiemap.com to view their excellent Football map of Helsinki.
Getting around Helsinki has a very comprehensive public transport system comprising of buses, trams, an underground system and suburban trains. The Metro is expanding every year. It was originally opened in 1982 and is planned to run without drivers in the next few years.
Buses run from the Central Station to most areas of the city, as too do the trams. A single ticket on any form of public transport is €2.20, although a day pass is only €6.
Finland’s largest airport is located around 15km from the city centre, close to the town of Vantaa. It was originally constructed for visitors for the 1952 Olympic Games, and now handles around 12 million passengers a year. The airport has won a number of awards for cleanliness, punctuality and facilities for travellers.
The airport is connected to the city centre by a regular bus services that takes around 40 minutes to reach the train station. There are plans to construct a rail link, although no start date has been confirmed as of yet. The airport is served on a daily basis by Blue1 from London Stansted, British Airways from London Heathrow and Finnair from London Heathrow and Manchester.
About the Finnair Stadium
About the Olympia Stadion