Oulu-lehti Areena

The pitch in Välivainio was known by another name long before the current one arrived: Castrenin kenttä, or Castrenin urheilupuisto, and locals in Оулу still reach for it. The switch to Oulu-lehti Areena came in 2009, two years after the ground had already been rebuilt underneath.

That rebuild is the part worth dwelling on. In 2006 the natural surface was taken up and replaced with artificial turf — laid to serve both football and American football, which is why the markings and the wear patterns tell more than one story. Floodlights went in during the same works, and only then did the ground open properly for the northern calendar. The first match on the new surface was played on 21 April 2007, when АК Оулу met Викингит.

AC Оулу remain the tenants, and the club's own pages still list the address on Paulaharjuntie as home. It is a compact ground — the capacity runs to a little under five thousand, which puts it closer to a municipal sports park than to a purpose-built arena, and the older name reflects exactly that.

One point of confusion is worth clearing up for anyone travelling: the ice arena in Оулу, at Raksila, is a separate building on a separate street entirely. Visitors who search for an "Oulu arena" and set off for Teuvo Pakkalan katu will find themselves several kilometres from any football.