”The experience is not just about what happens on the stage or in the rink. We want every guest who arrives at the arena to have a first-class experience from the moment they buy their tickets, and digital services will enhance the experience”, highlights Marko Hurme, CEO of UROS LIVE
An exciting new venture is arriving in Tampere soon. Perhaps you have heard of UROS LIVE — the name of the new arena situated right in the heart of the city. What you may not know is that it is much more than just an ice hockey arena. This brand new arena will be bringing in entertainment in numerous ways that will shake up Tampere and cause a global buzz — and it’s about time that the world discovers this vibrant city.
The CEO of this incredible sports and entertainment center, Marko Hurme, humorously describes the mentality of Tampere as a wiener dog. The size doesn’t matter for what does, is how big the mind can dream and the passion that makes the impossible possible. Tampere is the perfect location for such a large venue because it easily connects surrounding cities with seamless transportation. The designer of the building is Daniel Libeskind, American-Polish architect, famous for fascinating architecture all over the planet. SRV is the construction company and main constructor of the Tampere arena. The size of the UROS LIVE arena itself is approximately 33,000 m2 with a capacity of up to a crowd of 15,000. The total building area is 120,000 m2 to accommodate other construction to complement the arena.
In the arena, there will be 46 skyboxes available to fit between 15-18 guests, and 6 large suites to accommodate up to 40 guests. Lapland Hotels will be situated right on the arena, providing approximately 280 rooms with impeccable views as if you were right there in the game. Not only will UROS LIVE-arena bring entertaining sports, it will supply cultural events such as live concerts, circus spectaculars and even Finland’s second casino! Restaurants and a hotel will be available to make the arena accessible, even when there is not an event going on. Next to the arena will be residential areas providing up to 250 modern homes with breathtaking city views. Although there is a lot of excitement surrounding the arena, there has also been some negative outcry over the name of the arena itself.
In Finnish, ”uros” can be translated as a male animal, so you can presume some gender-based remarks were highlighted on social media and opinion columns. To offend was never the intention of the stakeholders and the story behind the name is much more majestic than you can imagine. UROS is an acronym for Universal Roaming Solutions, a company owned by Jyrki Hallikainen. You know when you travel and have those roaming fees sometimes? Thanks to UROS, they have made it less expensive to roam and surf the internet. This is only one of the high-tech services the company offers. UROS also delivers systems using AI to detect leaks in liquid quality monitoring, which provides sustainable methods to reduce waste, as well as improve renewable energy resources. The company also plans to bring this mission to the new arena. Sustainability is a key component of the success of UROS LIVE. Up to 20% of the energy at the arena is aimed to be sourced from the solar panels that will be installed on the roof. UROS wants to deliver the best to global communities and make a positive impact. So the moral of the lesson is, before arriving at a conclusion, be sure to hear the entire story — it may just pleasantly surprise you.
Marko comes from a hospitality and tourism background. His passion is the fusion of technology with hospitality. He has lived 20 years in Helsinki, with experience abroad in the United States, before moving back to his hometown of Tampere. He became the CEO of UROS LIVE in November 2019. Marko promises: ”I will bring decades of experience and connections from service and event businesses to the company, as well as my positively boyish enthusiasm to make good things happen.” ”This is the front-row seat in the experience business of the future, and it’s great to be able to create completely new opportunities for consumers and the industry. There is demand for a versatile arena in our modern world — a world in which people are choosing experiences and services over possessions. Even in the digital age, people want to meet each other and experience things together”, continues Marko.
He has three children, which inspired me to ask what his advice is for young people to succeed. He advised us to always dream big and wide, enjoy the present and don’t be afraid to find positive ways to help bring people together because it deflects an abundance of joy incomparable to anything else. As a final and most important question, I asked Marko: Ilves or Tappara? He mentioned that his father played for Ilves, as did he. But let’s just say that he will remain neutral until he retires, which he says will be a long time from now.
Despite the current COVID-19 situation, UROS LIVE is on track to deliver an arena of a lifetime by late Autumn 2021. The community can expect an exciting welcoming event the closer it gets to the date. For more information, find updates on the website at www.uroslive.com. Both UROS LIVE and the Ilves Family warmly welcome you to a brand new level of entertainment in the newest crown jewel of Tampere city!
