Hartwall Sold To Russian Businessmen

Finland’s biggest indoor arena has been sold to three Russian businessmen who are big hockey fans, according to Moscow-based business paper Vedomosti.

Gennadi Timtshenko, who is based in Switzerland and has a $14 billion fortune according to Forbes, and brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg have acquired the 15,000-capacity Hartwall Arena and a minority share in Jokerit, the ice hockey team that plays its home games at Hartwall.

Financial details of the deal haven’t been disclosed.

Harry Harkimo, who previously owned the arena and will retain a majority interest in Jokerit, told The Moscow Times that the Russians approached him because of “their love of hockey.”

Next year, the team will play in the Kontinental Hockey League, which is largely made up of Russian teams but also has competitors from Belarus, Latvia and Kazakhstan.

Hartwall, the venue for the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, has staged recent shows by 50 Cent, AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Andrea Bocelli, Bon Jovi, Depeche Mode, Celine Dion, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, and Guns N’ Roses.

Helsingin Sanomat, the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, reported that last year the arena – which opened in 1997 – posted revenues of euro 19 million ($24.8 million) and an operating loss of euro 95,000 ($126,000).