Football|The Mustapekka arena in Helsinki’s Oulunkylä was completely destroyed by fire the night before Saturday.
| Updated
Oulunkylän The Mustapekka Arena, the home stadium of football pride, IF Gnistan, which has been promoted to the Veikkausliiga for this season, caught fire the night before last Saturday.
A 16-year-old playing in Gnistan’s B-junior team Elias Risikko he and his friend happened to be the first ones there.
“We were cycling home from Itä-Pakila. When we were perhaps a kilometer away from the field, smoke could be seen between the woods. We thought there might be a small fire in the forest. It wasn’t very hard yet,” says Risikko.
“We went cycling there. It somehow didn’t seem very big for the school either.”
16-year-old Elias Risikko and his friend happened to be the first to arrive.
Oulunkylä joint school is only a few hundred meters from the stadium.
“We continued from there to the sports fields and turned around. “
Ahead was a barren sight.
“It was completely on fire. Then the fire was probably at its worst when we got to it.”
The friends alerted the fire department.
“We took a couple of videos and pictures, which unfortunately didn’t turn out very well.”
Risikko stayed with his friend to follow the events.
“We stayed there for almost another hour and a half.”
Gnistan’s home stadium Mustapekka-arena caught fire the night before last Saturday.
Photo of the extinguishing works from Saturday.
Acquaintances seeing the facilities and stadium structures in flames was breathtaking.
“Two days earlier, the burnt office had the continuation of the Hesa Cup. We must have been the last ones inside. It’s pretty hard to describe those feelings.”
of Gnistan the stand of the home stadium was completely destroyed in the fire. At the same time, the premises and property of the representative teams were burned, starting with game equipment and fan products.
At the weekend, Gnistan established a support fund. Managing director Ilkka Vanala said on Tuesday that the club had already received donations amounting to a six-figure sum.
Correction 16.7. 8:50 p.m.: Repaired Oulunkylä elementary school to Oulunkylä joint school.
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