Kokkola opens 77 million euro hybrid arena

Kokkola opened its new hybrid arena on Monday, attracting residents who came to explore the 77 million euro facility, Yle reports. The arena includes spaces for sports and hobbies, as well as facilities for concerts and other events.

Meja Prest was particularly impressed by the climbing wall and asked instructors about climbing opportunities.

“This is really wonderful and large, and there are so many different spaces where you can do all kinds of activities,” Prest said.

Sami Kerman, chief executive of the Finnish event industry association Tapahtumateollisuus, said the arena was the right size for Kokkola and its market.

He said the facility could create opportunities for companies and their customers, attract investments through business events and build commercial networks. In his view, the arena could bring economic activity to the city that would not otherwise be possible.

“It does not have to be the biggest and most beautiful in the world. It is enough to be highly competitive in its own category,” Kerman said.

Residents interviewed by Yle praised the new spaces. Anu Harjunpää said the arena was spacious and well organised, and that she was especially looking forward to concerts.

Raimo Santonen was also impressed, but asked where the sauna was. The building does have one sauna, but it is located next to the home team changing room and is not available to the general public.

The changing room can be reserved by teams playing at the football stadium and by teams using the arena hall. Santonen also wondered whether the changing rooms would be large enough for people carrying large sports bags.

The arena cost nearly 77 million euros. The city will also receive additional bills worth several million euros for outdoor work. Up to 120 people worked on the construction at the same time, most of them local builders, and the project required 3,000 to 4,000 truckloads of materials.