Vuosaari sports ground (, also known as Heteniitty) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

ground in

Vuosaari Vuosaari () is a Subdivisions of Helsinki#Neighbourhoods, neighbourhood in the city of Helsinki, Finland. It is located by the sea in East Helsinki and with its area of is geographically the largest district in the city. It also has two Helsi ...

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 ...

. It is the home ground of the

East Helsinki East Helsinki (, ) is an area in Helsinki, Finland, usually thought to comprise the city's eastern and south-eastern major districts (, ), including the districts of Vartiokylä, Myllypuro, Mellunkylä, Vuosaari, Herttoniemi, Laajasalo a ...

football club FC Viikingit, who play in the Finnish first division (''

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...

''). In addition, the athletics field is used by Viipurin Urheilijat. The ground currently has a capacity of approximately 1,500 spectators, but it was expanded to 3,500 seats in the 2007 season, when Viikingit played in the Finnish premier division. The ground is also called ''Heteniitty'' due to its location along Heteniityntie. Nicknames include ''Hettari'' and ''Monttu'' ('the Pit'), the latter derived from the shape of the ground and the fact that it was built in the location of a former

borrow pit Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock on the surface of Earth. Digging is actual ...

History

The ground was constructed in 1966 in the place of a former borrow pit, owing to a proposal made by the Vuosaari Foundation (''Vuosaari-säätiö''). Several national records in athletics were broken in Vuosaari in the 1970s. The ground was renovated in 1996. The renovation included, among other things, improvements to lighting, the running track and the stands. Major changes were again made in 2007, as FC Viikingit were promoted to the ''

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

''. The main stand was expanded to seat 1,000 spectators, and temporary stands were built opposite the main stand and in the curves. These changes brought the total number of seats to 3,500. The attendance record of 4,255 was created during the 2007 season in the

local derby A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. One of the first known sports rivalries occurred in the Roman Empire between the Blues and th ...

between FC Viikingit and

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki (), or simply as HJK (), is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. The club competes in Veikkausliiga, the top division of the Finnish football league system. Founded in 1907, the ...

. After Viikingit were relegated back to the first division, most of the new stands were torn down. The attendance record for first division matches was made on 21 July 2011, as 1,670 spectators turned out to see the Reds' match against local rivals

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

Transport connections

The ground is located in Central Vuosaari in the address Heteniityntie 2. It lies approximately one kilometre north of Vuosaari metro station, and can be reached on foot or with the buses 78 and 90. The ground has a small car park, and on match days the adjacent gravel field is converted into a temporary car park.

References

External links

FC Viikingit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuosaaren urheilukentta Football venues in Finland Sports venues in Helsinki Vuosaari Sports venues completed in 1966