Sponda to open the Ratina shopping centre in Tampere tomorrow – more than one-third of the shops are new to Tampere
Sponda Plc
Press release
18 April 2018 at 12:30
Sponda to open the Ratina shopping centre in Tampere tomorrow – more than one-third of the shops are new to Tampere
The Ratina shopping centre owned by the property investment company Sponda will open its doors tomorrow on Thursday, 19 April, in the heart of Tampere. It is expected that the grand opening of the newest and largest shopping centre in Tampere will attract as many as 50,000 visitors.
“We are extremely proud and happy to open the great Ratina shopping centre tomorrow, and we welcome customers from all over Finland to celebrate with us. Ratina will serve as the largest service hub in the Tampere city centre, and more than one-third of the shops that will open their doors are new to Tampere. The demand for premises has been high, and several retailers have seen Ratina as an excellent place to open their first shop in Tampere,” says Henrik Stadigh, Senior Vice President, Shopping Centres, at Sponda Plc.
Special offers and popular performers
The grand opening of the Ratina shopping centre will be celebrated from Thursday to Sunday, 19–22 April. The grand opening celebrations will start with the traditional ribbon cutting at 9:55 on Thursday morning, after which the shopping centre’s doors will open to the public at 10:00. The four-day grand opening offers events and a programme for all ages, as well as appealing special offers for shoppers.
Top Finnish artists will be performing at the grand opening. The main performers on Thursday will be Leo, who won the award for newcomer of the year at the Emma Gala, and the year’s best female artist Evelina. ABREU will perform a short acoustic set at the shopping centre on Friday, and other entertainers include the balloon artist JP Pirinen and Aleksanteri Hakaniemi. Children’s favourite, Hevisaurus, and The Voice of Finland finalists will take to the stage on Saturday. Sunday’s performers at Ratina are Ryhmä Hau, Jarppi and HP from the Dudesons and Mikko Harju. You can find the detailed schedule and offers for the grand opening on Ratina’s website.
Easily accessible
It is easy to get to the Ratina shopping centre’s grand opening. The shopping centre is located in the heart of Tampere on the shore of Ratina Bay, next to the bus station and Tampere Stadium. Due to its unique location, Ratina can be easily accessed on foot, by bicycle, public transport and car.
The Ratina shopping centre will arrange bus transportation from Hervanta and Lentävänniemi to the shopping centre on the opening day, Thursday, free of charge. The Ratina busses will operate non-stop to Ratina and back and pick up customers from every bus stop along their routes. You can check the bus routes from the Ratina website.
Those driving their own cars can park in the Tampere city centre’s largest parking garage, P-Ratina, which has entrances and exits located on Tampereen valtatie and Suvantokatu. The Ratina shopping centre will celebrate the grand opening by offering two hours of free parking time in P-Ratina for everyone until the end of May. P-Ratina will open on the day of the grand opening at 9:00.
Boosting the city’s growth
The Ratina shopping centre’s service offering meets the demands of the fast growing population and purchase power in the entire Pirkanmaa region, and will offer a workplace for approximately 1,000 people. The shopping centre supports growth and the appeal of the city as a place to live as well as a travel destination.
“Tampere is one of the most attractive cities in Finland and the second fastest growing urban area where the demand for new services is growing. Ratina offers new services and jobs close to people and also a pleasant meeting place for locals to spend their leisure time. I believe that Ratina will become a new and important part of Tampere’s city life and urban culture,” says Stadigh.
The Ratina shopping centre comprises 53,000 square metres of retail and service space, offering the most comprehensive selection of daily consumer goods and extensive fashion, interior decoration, wellbeing and leisure time services, as well as a versatile range of restaurants. The three-storey shopping centre consists of the newly constructed Ratina and the Functionalist Ratinan Kulma and Ranta-Ratina from the 1930s, which have been carefully restored to their previous condition. The highest part of Ratina, the newly constructed Periscope, provides a stunning view over the Tammerkoski rapids.
An attractive selection of domestic and international brands
The Ratina shopping centre offers more than 140 shops, of which more than 40 are newcomers to Tampere.
Ratina’s brands include Zara, H&M, Monki, Alko, K-Supermarket Ratina, Lidl, BR-lelut, Suomalainen Kirjakauppa, Instrumentarium, Nissen, Silmäasema, Aarikka, The Body Shop, Esprit, Guess, Halonen, Lindex, New Yorker, Superdry, Gant, Kappahl, Luhta Brand Store, Top Sport, Kicks, Ego, Clas Ohlson, Eurokangas, Finlayson, Granit, Vallila, Vepsäläinen, Värisilmä Showroom, Arto Rastaan Periscope, Espresso House, Hanko Sushi, Kotipizza, Kung Food Panda, Sandro Ratina and Tortilla House.
Sponda Plc
More information: Henrik Stadigh, Senior Vice President, Shopping Centres, Sponda Plc, tel. +358 50 324 2800
Sponda Plc is a property investment company specialising in commercial properties in Finland’s largest cities. Sponda’s business concept is to own, lease and develop retail and office properties and shopping centres into environments that promote the business success of its clients. The fair value of Sponda’s investment properties is approximately EUR 3.9 billion and the leasable area is around 1.2 million m2. www.sponda.fi
The Ratina shopping centre will open on 19 April 2018 in the Ratina district in central Tampere. It will be served by first rate transport links. Approximately 530,000 inhabitants live within Ratina’s sphere of influence. With 53,000 square metres of space for retail and services, Ratina will be Tampere’s largest shopping centre, offering by far the most comprehensive selection of daily consumer goods in the city centre. With over 140 shops and adjacent outdoor market areas, Ratina will be a unique urban space that is perfect for shopping, leisure and events. Shopping at Ratina will be easy and convenient, and the shopping centre will have, among other things, parking capacity for 1,200 cars. The Ratina shopping centre is being developed by Sponda Plc. www.ratina.fi