Olli Huttunen and Anton Popoviš were shocked by the fate of the Tehtaa field.
Haka’s CEO Olli “Oka” Huttunen his expression is serious as he stands in front of the burnt-out grandstand of the Tehtaa field.
– This is sad. Conditions are fixed here, and then they go away.
The old grandstand at the factory field burned to the ground already in 1994. Huttunen was the club’s famous goalkeeper at the time.
– This is shocking. In 1994, I came to the renaissance, and the old wooden grandstand had just been burned. It came as a surprise because we didn’t live in the age of social media yet. The perpetrators were caught. Now the demolition is ahead and the construction of a new one again, Huttunen sighs.
The police are investigating Sunday night’s grandstand fire as vandalism. The burnt stand is owned by Tehtis oy. Haka is only a tenant on the field.
– Now we are still sorting out the fire and insurance matters and then the planning of the new grandstand will begin. Haka only had storage space in the stand, Huttunen says.
Haka was already in a financially challenging situation before the fire, when the team was relegated from the Veikkausliiga at the end of last season. However, Huttunen reminds that the club has survived difficult situations in the past.
– Bankruptcy was close in 2010, when Sedu Koskinen left the club, but club cooperation and the spirit of the club community saved. We can get through everything, Huttunen believes.
Despite the huge setback, the club’s goal is to get back to the Veikkausliiga next season.
“Unreal feeling”
Olli Huttunen also remembers the previous stand fire very well. Jussi Saarinen
Ilves midfielder Anton Popovich was born in Valkeakoski in 1996. He was raised by Haka, who played in the club’s representative team between 2015 and 2020.
– The feeling is indescribable, an absolutely unreal feeling. This Tehtaa field has been my second home, an important base of my childhood, and now its stand has been destroyed, Popoviš says seriously.
The man now lives in Tampere, but he drove to Valkeakoski after hearing the sad news. When Popoviš looks at the black remains of the grandstand, memories from his childhood flood his mind.
– Father Valery brought me here to the field as a child, and this is a part of me, a base. I want to mourn and remember, says Popoviš.
Valeri Popovič is a true Haka legend. The attacking midfielder represented the Valkeakoski club between 1994 and 2008. He scored 170 goals for the black and whites in 323 Veikkausliiga games. “Tsaari” won six Finnish championships in his career.
Anton Popoviš arrived to see Tehta’s field after the fire. Jussi Saarinen
There was almost nothing left of the grandstand at the factory field after the fire. Jussi Saarinen
This is what the stand looked like after the fire. Jussi Saarinen
Outsiders now have no business in the stands of the factory field. Jussi Saarinen
The police are investigating the grandstand fire as vandalism. Jussi Saarinen