Helsinki Velodrome ( fi, Helsingin Velodromi) is an outdoor

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

stadium in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. The protected functionalist concrete building was designed by

Hilding Ekelund Georg Hilding Ekelund (18 November 1893, in Kangasniemi – 30 January 1984, in Helsinki) was a Finnish architect, from 1950 to 1958 a professor of housing design at Helsinki University of Technology and from 1931 to 1934 editor-in-chief of the F ...

History

It was built in 1938–1940 for the

1940 Summer Olympics The 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, were originally scheduled to be held from September 21 to October 6, 1940, in Tokyo City, Empire of Japan. They were rescheduled for Helsinki, Finland, to be held from ...

which were cancelled due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war, it was a venue of the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

for the

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...

and

events. The Velodrome hosted the four-track cycling events and the whole field hockey event for the Olympics. The original building was deemed inadequate during the games and additional space was quickly erected to accommodate the athletes and press. Some temporary seating was also constructed for additional capacity. Before the renovation of 1997–2000, the center area had a natural grass pitch and was used for

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, hosting local teams like

Ponnistus Helsingin Ponnistus (abbreviated Ponnistus) is a football club from Helsinki, Finland. The club was formed in 1887 making it the oldest football club in Finland. The men's first team currently plays in the Nelonen (Fourth Division) and their hom ...

Käpylän Pallo Käpylän Pallo or KäPa for short, is a football (soccer) club from the Käpylä district of Helsinki. The club currently plays in the Kakkonen, the third tier of the Finnish league system. KäPa play their home matches at the Max Westerberg A ...

and

Atlantis FC Atlantis FC is a Finnish football club, based in Helsinki. It currently plays in the third tier of Finnish football (''Kakkonen''). History The club was founded in late 1995 when Johanneksen Dynamo (founded 1980) and FC Norssi (founded 1985) m ...

Docomomo Docomomo International (sometimes written as DoCoMoMo or simply Docomomo) is a non-profit organization whose full title is: International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement. ...

has listed it as a significant example of modern architecture in Finland.

Usage

Cycling

The cycling track is 400 meters in length and is used for most national events. The banking in the bends is 37.5˚ and 16˚ on the straights. The length of the track and the lack of built safety measures make the track unsuitable for international cycling competitions. Helsinki Velodrome also acts as a starting and ending point for the annual

cyclosportive A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term '' Gran Fondo'' is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and so ...

Tour de Helsinki.

American football

The Helsinki Velodrome is the home field of most American football teams in

, including

East City Giants East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and the Vaahteraliiga teams

Helsinki Roosters Helsinki Roosters is an American football team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays in the Vaahteraliiga in Finland and their home field is the Helsinki Velodrome. History Roosters were founded in 1979 and the club is a founding member of ...

and

Helsinki Wolverines Helsinki Wolverines is a Finland, Finnish American football club based in Helsinki and was founded in 1995. The clubs Top Men's Team plays in the Vaahteraliiga of the American Football Association of Finland which is the highest ranking level of A ...

. The ground also caters to

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

and

players. In 2010 a training pitch designated primarily for

was opened in the near vicinity of the Helsinki Velodrome, making the area an unofficial American football center of Helsinki.

Field hockey

During the summer season the field is used for playing field hockey.

References

Football venues in Finland Velodromes in Finland Venues of the 1952 Summer Olympics Cycle racing in Finland Olympic cycling venues Olympic field hockey venues Hilding Ekelund buildings American football venues in Finland Pasila 1941 establishments in Finland Sports venues completed in 1941 Lacrosse venues Field hockey venues {{Summer-Olympic-venue-stub