Tampere selected to host Finland’s second casino

RAY, the Finnish Slot Machine Association, has selected the Central Deck and Arena project in the southern city of Tampere as the location for the second casino in Finland. The €550m project announced earlier this year is being developed by local property developer SRV and will include diverse restaurant, accommodation and entertainment services.

Tampere Arena“This is great news for SRV, and we are delighted that RAY selected our multifunctional arena as the location for their new game and event centre,” remarked Timo Nieminen, SRV Executive Vice President. “We will be proud to continue promoting this unique project, which – if realised – means that Tampere will have a completely new district.”

Several locations were considered for the Scandinavian country’s second casino license but RAY indicated that the combination of tourists and locals in Tampere as well as good transport connections would draw enough customers to make the facility profitable. SRV was selected in February 2016 to develop the project with plans for it to connect the eastern and western parts of Tampere. Negotiations have been ongoing during the year on the financing of the project and investor cooperation.

In addition to the casino, which will be the nation’s second in addition to Casino Helsinki, plans for the new 1.29 million sq ft development also include the largest sports and event arena in Finland. The complex would form a new hybrid block, combining a multifunctional arena, offices and apartments.

The first phase includes covering the southern railway yard with a deck, on which the event arena, two tower buildings and a training hall will be built. The second phase includes the building of a northern deck and three tower buildings. The entire site will include a total of 120,000 sqm and over a 1,000 apartments. The aim is to begin construction work of the southern deck and the event arena in spring 2017. According to the estimated schedule, the first phase will be completed in the summer of 2020, and the whole area in 2023.