PKS Areena

Since the renovation in 2024, the old brick facade has been replaced with modern cladding, but the wooden supports holding up the roof remain. They are thick and rough, a reminder of the building’s original purpose as an ice sports center. The roof still covers the ice rink, which is hidden beneath the football pitch when the weather is mild.

The capacity is 4,800, though only 2,500 are seated. The rest stand in the terraces behind the stands, where the wind from the lake comes straight through. The atmosphere is not one of noise, but of patience. The crowd stays because there is nowhere else to go. The team, Jokipojat, plays there every season, and the local boys still learn to skate on the ice that lies dormant under the turf for half the year.

PKS Areena is a name that came with the money, but the building is older than the sponsorship. It opened in 1982, long before the current ownership. The sign outside points to the Mehtimäki sports center, and the trail markers in the forest nearby suggest that the arena is just one part of a larger landscape. When the rain falls, it runs off the curved roof and disappears into the ground, leaving the pitch dry for the next match.