The Finnish Championship League has the opportunity to increase its foothold in Europe, writes Simo Arkko, a journalist at Urheil.
TAMPERE. The Ice Hockey Championship League Spring and its first final have already shown it.
Thanks to the halls bulging the audience, the Finnish Championship League has an all-time seam to increase its revenue streams and improve its solvency compared to European series.
In the first final, as many as 10,767 spectators were seen at the new Tampere Arena. In the next game in Turku, the seats have already been sold out and there are more seats left. The finals will be played in front of more than 10,000 spectators.
The all-time audience record is set to be broken this spring in the Finnish Championships. The matches have been watched by a total of 275,428 spectators since the first final.
The current record is from 2016, when the league spring pulled 284,479 pairs of eyes. The record can be broken already in the next game in Turku.
Tappara and TPS alone will not benefit from the huge crowds in the Finnish Championship, as the ticket proceeds will be split between the top eight teams. Of course, the top two get the most money, but Ilves, Jukurit and KooKoo, among others, currently benefit from full halls.
The Finnish Championship League now has an opportunity that it will not get rid of. This spring is an indication that the series will be of interest if the product and the hall conditions are in order. This is undoubtedly the case in both Tampere and Turku.
In the future, the interest of the Finnish Championship League will grow in many different ways. The possible return of the Jokers to the series for the period 2023–2024 would be an absolute boost for the league.
Already next season, many top players from the Hockey League KHL can be seen in the Finnish Championship League.
It is clear that Switzerland and Sweden are exporting a large part of the best names. However, the SM League is likely to get its share of top players who are also of interest to a larger audience.
After the series closed and the Jokers left, the Finnish Championship League has lost spectators. Now communication has been improved in the playoffs. For example, clips of paints have appeared on social media admirably fast.
The Finnish Championship League now has an excellent opportunity to grow its foothold.
The series cannot miss this opportunity.