Helsinki Ice Hall (
Finnish: Helsingin jäähalli,
Swedish: Helsingfors ishall) is an indoor
arena located in
Helsinki,
Finland. The arena has a seating capacity of 8,200.
History
Helsinki Ice Hall has been the home arena of
HIFK of
Liiga since its construction in 1966. The arena was also the home of
Jokerit from 1967 until the team moved to the new
Hartwall Arena in 1997.
Helsinki Ice Hall used to be the main venue for the majority of important ice sports events and indoor arena concerts held in Finland, but after the constructions of
Gatorade Center in 1990, Hartwall Arena in 1997, and
Tampere Deck Arena in 2021, many of the largest events now take place in the newer arenas. Nevertheless, the arena still remains an active venue for concerts, conferences, expos and sports events. During the
2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, games were played there.[1]
While the Hartwall Arena was the planned secondary venue for the
2022 IIHF World Championship, the games of group A were moved to Helsinki Ice Hall, due to some of the owners of the Hartwall Arena being covered by the sanctions set up after the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[2]
Helsinki Ice Hall is sometimes called "Nordis", referring to its address on
Nordenskiöldinkatu. Another nickname for the arena is "Petoluola",
Finnish for "The Beast Cave", which refers to the
2nd logo of HIFK: a red panther.