The Gatorade Center (formerly HK Areena, Elysée Arena, Typhoon Arena, but commonly referred to as Turkuhalli in Finnish and Åbohallen in Swedish) is a multi-functional

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

in the district of Artukainen in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Opened in November 1990, it can hold 10,500 spectators for ice hockey games. It is primarily used for

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, and is the home arena of

TPS TPS or Tps may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Télévision Par Satellite, a French satellite television company *Third-person shooter, a game genre * Torsonic Polarity Syndrome, in ''South Park'' animation * Trailer Park Sex, a band from ...

, but it is also frequently used to host concerts and other events such as the Maata Näkyvissä Festival. A record attendance of 12,041 for a hockey match was registered in 1991. Gatorade Center is a member of the

European Arenas Association The European Arenas Association (EAA) is a group of indoor arenas located in Europe with a range of event hosting experiences, including concerts, entertainment productions, and sporting and corporate events. As of 2025, it is made up of 41 mem ...

(EAA).

History

The arena, Turku Fair and Congress Centre, and a riding school were built on the former runways of the Artukainen Airport (1935–1955), which served as the main airport of Turku until

Turku Airport Turku Airport , is located in Turku, Finland, north of the center, in ''Lentokenttä'' ( Finnish for 'airfield'; ) district in the Maaria-Paattinen ward of Turku. It serves approximately 450,000 passengers per year, being the fourth busiest air ...

was built in 1955. The arena was built for the needs of hosting the

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

, during which it was the main venue of the games. There were, among others, matches of the group stage and the final stage of the tournament.

Construction

It was the first arena to be built in Finland with a capacity of more than 10,000 people. It was not until 1997 that a larger venue was opened, this being

Hartwall Arena Helsinki Halli, or Helsinki Arena (formerly Hartwall Arena), is a large multi-functional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened in April 1997. The arena is convertible for various events. The total seated capacity during ice ...

in the Finnish capital

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. The Gatorade Center was designed by architectural firm Casagrande and Haroma Oy and cost 145 million Finnmarks (24.4 million euros). The city of Turku paid 95 million Finnmarks (16 million euros) towards this.

Opening

The arena was opened, as Typhoon Arena, on November 25, 1990 by the Minister of Transport and Communications,

Ilkka Kanerva Ilkka Armas Mikael Kanerva (28 January 1948 – 14 April 2022) was a Finnish politician and a member of the Parliament of Finland. He was born in Lokalahti, now a part of Uusikaupunki in Southwest Finland. He was the Minister for Foreign Affairs ...

. The first hockey match that took place on that day was played between TPS Turku and

SaiPa SAIPA (, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'' lit. ''Iranian Limited Company for the Production of Citroën Autom ...

. It was renamed Elysée Arena after its main sponsor

Marli Marli is a manufacturer of soft drinks in Finland. The company's drinks include juice brands like Mehukatti, Juissi and Trip. In 2001, the German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Rom ...

in the summer of 1994 and retained this name until 2007. From the summer of 2006, the arena was called Turkuhalli, which has been used in marketing in addition to the sponsor's name since the early days of the venue. In 1996 and 1997, the arena was extended by an annex, which contained a second entrance, 28 new VIP boxes, space for a new restaurant and a new vestibule. The extension cost was 6 million euros. In 1998, the overall look of the arena's restaurants was redesigned by renovator Sedu Koskinen. A full renovation of the arena took place between 2016 and 2018. Oy Turkuhalli-Åbohallen Ab, founded by the City of Turku in 1989, merged with Kiinteistö Oy Turku Monitoimihalli which owns the venue, in 2010. Kiinteistö Oy Turku Monitoimihalli is also wholly owned by the city.

Events

Gatorade Center was the main venue for the

1991 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships The 1991 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 55th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), and at the same time served as the 66th and last Ice Hockey European Championships. Teams representing 25 countrie ...

and one of the venues in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. It hosted '' Suomen euroviisukarsinta'', the Finnish national final for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

in and .

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

performed there on 13 May 1998 as part of her

The Velvet Rope Tour The Velvet Rope Tour was the third concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. Launched in support of her sixth studio album '' The Velvet Rope'' (1997), the tour visited Europe, North America, Japan, New Zealand, Africa, and Austral ...

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

started their European leg of the

Crush Tour Crush may refer to: * Infatuation or limerence, the romantic attraction to another person * Puppy love, feelings of love, romance, or infatuation felt by young people Crush may also refer to: Film * ''Crush'' (1972 film), a Hong Kong film * ' ...

at the arena on 5 August 2000.

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

performed at the arena during his Euphoria Tour on 6 April 2011.

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

had two shows at the arena during his

Wrecking Ball World Tour The Wrecking Ball World Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to promote Springsteen's seventeenth studio album, '' Wrecking Ball'', which was released on March 5, 2012. It was the first tour for the E Street Band wi ...

: 7 and 8 May 2013. In 2017, the opening and closing of Europeade, the largest European costume and folklore festival took place in the arena.

References

External links