Ratinan StadionGround: Ratinan Stadion Visits: 1 Date: 1st July 2023 Match: Ilves - Sejnäjoki 1-1 (Veikkausliiga) Attendance: 3 311 The main game on this trip was Ilves v Seinäjoki at Ratinan Stadion in Tampere. Ilves, as well as several other clubs from Tampere, are normally playing at Tammelan Stadion. I visited Tammelan Stadion in 2019 but since then the ground has been demolished, in time for the 2024 season it should be ready to host football again. Luckily for Ilves there is an athletics ground, Ratinan Stadion, with a capacity of 17,000 in Tampere and during the reconstruction of Tammelan Stadion Ilves will play their home games there. Ratinan Stadion was opened in 1965 and the attendance record is 24,873 from when Juventus visited back in 1984 for a European cup game against Ilves. During the reconstruction of Olympiastadion in Helsinki (2016-2018) Finland played their home games at Ratinan Stadion. My hotel was only 10 minutes by foot from the ground and with a 5pm kick-off there was plenty of time for some sightseeing. Unfortunately it rained more or less all day but I borrowed an umbrella from the hotel and did some sightseeing anyway. With a population of 340,000 Tampere is the 3rd most populated city in Finland and the most populated city not situated by the sea in the Nordic countries. During my sightseeing I visited the former industrial establishments of the city, some of them are nowadays museums. The city was the most important industrial city in Finland at the beginning of the 20th century. During the civil (1918) war there was a major battle for Tampere which ended in victory for the “whites”. After a late lunch at the museum centre I went back to my hotel for a short rest. From my room I could actually see parts of the ground and I noticed when the floodlights were turned on. As I made the short walk to Ratinan Stadion there was actually a let up in the rain and I didn´t bring any umbrella. As kick-off approached Philip showed up and from our seats we had a good view of the action. The attendance was given as 3,311 and with the exception of the 25 away fans everyone was seated in the covered main stand. Since it started to rain quite heavily, torrential at times, I was quite pleased to sit under a roof. The pitch was coping with the heavy downpour but it was not easy for the players, 0-0 at half-time. On the opposite side there was a group of fans who had booked the sauna experience and at times they were standing in the rain chanting. I guess the amount of alcohol consumed might have played a part in not caring about the rain. Anyway, Ilves made it 1-0 from the penalty spot and a few minutes later an Ilves player saved with his hands, red card and penalty for Seinäjoki. The penalty was scored and it ended 1-1 at Ratinan Stadion. Unfortunately the floodgate opened in Tampere and it was torrential rain coming down as I made the short walk back to the hotel. Completely soaked I changed to dry clothes and then went to the hotel restaurant for a well-deserved dinner! Cathedral View of Tammerkoski Tammerkoski falls View of the former industrial area Pedestrian bridge leading to the ground Ratinan Stadion Ratinan Stadion Olympic torch North Stand East End South Stand West End Players entering Kick-off Away fans View of play Sauna fans Heavy rain View of Ratinan Stadion North Stand Ultras Pano Pano |