Töölö Sports Hall (, ) is a sports venue located in the Töölö district of

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 ...

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, ...

. It was designed by

Aarne Hytönen Aarne Jonatan Hytönen (10 October 1901, Turku - 29 April 1972) was a Finnish architect. He is best known for designing the Töölö Sports Hall and the Olympia Terminal in Helsinki, Finland together with Risto-Veikko Luukkonen, both of which a ...

and Risto-Veikko Luukkonen and built in 1935 as Messuhalli (Exhibition Hall). It is located near the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

, the

Opera House An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

, and the Bolt Arena. The hall was originally a venue for concerts, banquets and sporting events, but is now used only for training and competition in various sports.

History

In preparation for the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

the building was expanded on the northern side. During the Olympics

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

events as well as the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

finals were held at the venue. In June 1966 the hot pitch used to fix the hall's roof caught fire. The ensuing blaze almost destroyed the whole building but was eventually extinguished with the help of 175 firemen and the army, the latter of which kept the gathered crowds out of the way. In 1975 the hall was moved to Helsinki city ownership and got its current name. It is the home arena of the basketball team Torpan Pojat and more recently the Helsinki Seagulls men's basketball team. The hall is listed by Docomomo as a significant example of modern architecture in Finland.

References

External links

Töölö Sports Hall – City of Helsinki Sports Department1952 Summer Olympics official report.
p. 51. {{DEFAULTSORT:Toolo Sports Hall Sports venues in Helsinki Indoor arenas in Finland Modernist architecture in Finland Venues of the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball venues Olympic boxing venues Olympic gymnastics venues Olympic weightlifting venues Olympic wrestling venues Töölö

History

See also

References

External links