Jakobstads Centralplan
Jakobstad, Finland
Formerly: Nya plan
The ground in Jakobstad carries the weight of a town that has moved on. For decades Jakobstads Centralplan stood as the city’s centre, facing a pitch that was once the heart of Finnish football competition. The old head of the community settled down when they saw the new build going up, because the shift was inevitable.
What is visible now is the result of that transition.
The club FF Jaro played here for over fifty years, until they moved to Project Liv Arena. The old arena’s capacity sat around five thousand, a number that feels large for a town of this size, but the record crowd of 5,611 for a match against VPS suggests that when the right occasion arrived, the place could spring a surprise.
Today the site is a relic of a different sporting age.