BC Nokia gets to play the Korisliiga finals on their home field in Liikuntahalli in Harjuniity.
21:32•Updated 21:59
The dispute over the venue for the basketball league finals has been resolved. BC Nokia gets to play the finals on its home field in Liikuntahalli in Harjuniity. The basketball association’s competition division decided on the matter on Monday.
BC Nokia received an exception permit for this season to play in the 800-seat sports hall, but the permit did not include finals.
According to the league regulations, there must be a playing field with a seating capacity of at least 1,200 people.
Chairman of BC Nokia Marko Pirhonen told Urheilu late on Sunday evening that the club is not going to play elsewhere.
– We have made our decision. We don’t leave our house anywhere. If we don’t get to play there, we won’t play at all, Pirhonen announced his strict condition regarding the Harjuniity sports hall.
Competition director of the Basketball Association Tom Westerholm commented on the situation on Monday earlier in the afternoon before the decision was announced.
– In my opinion, threats are not the kind of thing that can be used to move things forward. We have had a good conversation since autumn. I would have liked it to have continued until the end.
– I wouldn’t say that we are about to bend, but we are looking for a common solution to be able to play the finals. The decision will not be in accordance with the series regulations. They have always resulted in some sort of sanctions, Westerholm comments on possible sanctions.
According to the report sent by the club to the association, the club organizes 100 standing places for the matches, so there are 958 stands in use in Harjuniity.
By the decision of the competition division, Harjuniity’s Liikuntahalli is confirmed as the venue for the finals in a situation where the club does not have a venue that fulfills the number of seats in the stands according to the series regulations.
BC Nokia is playing in the Korisliiga finals for the first time. It will face the defending champion Helsinki Seagulls. The finals start on Wednesday in Helsinki and Nokia will play for the first time on Friday.