The Gatorade Center (commonly referred to as Turkuhalli in Finnish and Åbohallen in Swedish) is a multi-functional indoor arena in the district of Artukainen in Turku, Finland. Opened in November 1990, it can hold 10,500 spectators for ice hockey games.
It is primarily used for ice hockey, and is the home arena of TPS, 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.
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 was built in 1955.
The arena was built for the needs of hosting the Ice Hockey World Championships, 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 in the Finnish capital Helsinki.