Pori had to resort to extraordinary solutions so that everyone who wanted to could watch the Bandy final. The new snow embankment stands were mostly liked by the public.
11.3. 20:57•Updated 11.3. 21:31
Narukerä junior manager Martti Lousti has been following the games on Pori’s artificial ice for 31 years, until now always in the main stand. Today only the fastest and luckiest got there.
– Now I changed sides, so to speak, Lousti jokes.
Narukerä quickly built snow ramparts around the pitch, because it was clear that playing in the Bandyliiga final would cause an extraordinary crowd rush. In the end, the audience was almost 2,400 people.
In advance, we were afraid of how to accommodate the crowd, but the fear turned out to be unfounded.
– You can see well from here. Definitely to continue with the future in mind. With summer shoes on, the stand is a bit slippery, but otherwise I’m positively surprised, Lousti says.
Mika Mäkelä and Mikko Lehtonen also praise the snow moat viewing area. It should be a little steeper so that shorter people don’t have to reach, but otherwise the game is visible. There is still another suggestion for improvement.
– Sound reproduction could be better. The stand in question has not been taken into account in it, so the announcements are a bit difficult to hear, Mäkelä states.
The crowd in Pori got a little slow, but after Narukerä took the lead with several goals, the stands started to warm up.
– This is a big outdoor arena and the audience is scattered, so the sound is a bit drowned out, but I think there is a good atmosphere here, Lehtonen says.
The people of Pori encourage their own people, especially when success is at hand.
Mari Mäenpää admits to being in the ice ball game now for the first time. However, there is a true fan next door who was lured to the place. He’s dressed last for the final.
– The helmet is to prevent the ball from hitting your head. And the hands are fast, as everyone needs to be, in order to get a hold of the ball when necessary, Keke Mäenpää tells.
On Mäenpäi is the captain of Narukerä Ville Aaltonen jerseys – from the year when Aaltonen played in Russia, so based on the appearance it is difficult to judge which team they support, but otherwise it is not unclear.
– We’ll be at the market all week if Narukerä wins!
Added at 21:31 information that the match Narukerä-Kampparit ended with a score of 7-3 and Narukerä won the championship.