Finland’s Tampere Deck Arena (cap. 15,000) is to become the Nokia Arena under a new naming-rights deal.

The Tampere Deck arena previously signed a ten-year naming rights agreement with technology firm Uros but the deal was terminated amid concerns about the company’s financial position.

The venue will now be named after Finnish telecommunications company Nokia, which has acquired the naming rights for five years, with an option to extend the partnership by another five.

Nokia Arena, which already has a ten-year ticketing deal with CTS Eventim-owned Lippupiste, will host 1 million visitors annually, and host a combination of musical and sporting events.

“NOKIA ARENA IS NOT ONLY A STATE-OF-THE-ART VENUE FOR SPORT, MUSIC AND BUSINESS EVENTS, BUT ALSO A FINNISH LANDMARK”

The venue will serve as the home rink of Tampere-based ice hockey teams Tappara and Ilves and as the main venue for the International Ice Hockey Federation’s 2022 world championship.

Tommi Uitto, president of mobile networks and country senior officer for Finland at Nokia, says: “Customer experience both in physical and virtual events is changing radically with the introduction of new digital platforms and technologies. Nokia Arena is not only a state-of-the-art venue for sport, music and business events, but also a Finnish landmark. Nokia was founded in Tampere 156 years ago and today Finland continues to be one of Nokia’s key R&D centres in 5G and beyond. This partnership further reinforces our commitment to Finland, and we look forward to seeing Nokia Arena as a pioneer in world-class stadium experience.”

Marko Hurme, CEO of the Nokia Arena, says: “This is an exciting time for the arena, and we are very proud to partner with such an iconic brand and technology leader like Nokia. When choosing our partner, we wanted to ensure that we united with a company that shares our vision and values for the arena, and understands the possibilities new technologies and connections enable in creating an engaging visitor experience. Nokia has a long history of building recognised technology clusters in Finland and in Tampere, so this is an ideal match.”