Tampere Stadium[1] (Finnish: Tampereen stadion),[2] also known as Ratina Stadium (Finnish: Ratinan stadion), designed by architect Timo Penttilä and completed in 1965, is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampere, Finland, with a seating capacity of 16,800 people, and up to 32,000 people for concerts. In 2018, the stadium hosted the IAAF World U20 Championships. The pitch and main stand were originally completed for the 1952 1952 Summer Olympics when Ratina hosted five qualification and preliminary round matches. In 2009, Ratina was one of the stadiums of the UEFA Women's Euro 2009. Ratina has also hosted several matches of the Finland national football team.

Tampere Stadium
Ratina Stadium
Panoramic view of the stadium
Map
Full nameTampere Stadium
LocationRatina, Tampere, Finland
Coordinates61°29′33″N 023°45′51″E / 61.49250°N 23.76417°E / 61.49250; 23.76417
OwnerCity of Tampere
OperatorCity of Tampere
Capacity16,800
Field size105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened1965
Renovated2004
ArchitectTimo Penttilä
Tenants
Finland national football team (2016–present)
Ilves (on occasion)
Tampere United (2004–2010)

Football

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The stadium primarily hosts football matches. It served as Tampere United's home stadium and it was the home stadium for Finnish national team between 2016 and 2018 due to the renovation of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The stadium was also used by Ilves, who holds the record attendances for football matches in both European and domestic competitions: 24,873 against Juventus on 19 September 1984 in the European Cup and 15,000 against Kokkolan Palloveikot on 9 October 1983 in the Finnish League.

Music

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Over the years the stadium has hosted several music events. In addition to standalone concerts, it serves as the main arena for the annual hip hop festival Blockfest.

Concerts

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Date Artist(s) Tour/Event
14 August 2004 Eppu Normaali
18 August 2007 Toto Falling in Between Tour
19 July 2008 Iron Maiden Somewhere Back in Time World Tour
9 August 2008 PMMP
Ismo Alanko
Popeda
Eppu Normaali
Suomi-ilmiö 2008
2 June 2009 Bruce Springsteen Working on a Dream Tour
26 May 2010 Bryan Adams
1 June 2010 AC/DC Black Ice World Tour
1 August 2012 Red Hot Chili Peppers I'm With You World Tour
26 May 2013 Bon Jovi Because We Can World Tour
31 July 2015 Nightwish Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour
6 August 2016 Eppu Normaali 40th Anniversary Concert
10 August 2017 Robbie Williams The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour
4 August 2018 Popeda Popeda.Ratina.Rakkaus
9 August 2019
10 August 2019
Rammstein Europe Stadium Tour 2019
30 July 2022 Hassisen kone 40th Anniversary Reunion Tour
4 August 2022 Juha Tapio Elossa!
2 September 2023 Popeda Ratinasta poikki

Speedway

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Tampere Stadium is also used as a venue for motorcycle speedway. The stadium played host to the 1995 World Under-21 Championship Final won by Australia's Jason Crump, and in 2014 the stadium hosted the inaugural Speedway Grand Prix of Finland won by Slovenian rider Matej Zagar. Speedway returned to Ratina the following year, with the Finnish Grand Prix as Round 2 of the 2015 Speedway Grand Prix series. The speedway track is laid out over the stadium's 400 metres (440 yards) athletics track.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tampere Stadium". Tampere: City of Tampere. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Tampereen stadion" [Tampere Stadium] (in Finnish). Tampere: City of Tampere. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
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