Ticketmaster partners with Garden Helsinki arena

Ticketmaster Finland has announced an exclusive partnership with events arena Garden Helsinki.

Currently under city planning, Garden Helsinki will be completed in stages from 2020 to 2023. The arena will host sporting, music and cultural events, with a capacity of 16,000 seats and 120 boxes.

The partnership sees Ticketmaster become the official ticketing partner of the arena. In addition to providing ticketing services, the company will offer other services including creative marketing and access to ticketing technology.

“The live experience no longer begins when the fans sit down in their seats but from the moment they purchase their ticket,” says Timo Everi, chairman of the Garden Helsinki board. “With their market leading position in Finland and internationally, Ticketmaster is easily the best partner to fulfil our ambitions and help us to grow our business.”

Ticketmaster Finland managing director Jakob Lund says his team is “honoured to be a part of the Garden Helsinki project.”

“The live experience no longer begins when the fans sit down in their seats but from the moment they purchase their ticket”

“We have the world-class technology and experience required for a venue of this stature, and the marketing reach needed to fill it,” comments Lund. “With the live industry booming like never before, this is truly an exciting time for fans, clients and our team alike.

In 2016, the 15,500-capacity Hartwall arena in Helsinki – Finland’s largest venue – partnered with Ticketmaster Finland, ending a previous deal with CTS Eventim’s Lippupiste.

According to the International Ticketing Yearbook 2018 (ITY), Lippupiste had 53% of the market in 2016 prior to the Hartwell-Ticketmaster partnership, as opposed to Ticketmaster Finland’s 36%.

Lippupiste sales director of culture and live entertainment, Mari Hatakka, told ITY that “the fight over future venues is going to be tough – these are pretty much must-win cases for ticketing operators.”

Other future venues include Tampere Central Deck and Arena (11,000-cap.), which is set to open in 2021 and Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium (36,000-cap.), which will re-open later this year.

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