Otanlahti Stadium

About

The Superpesis (lit. 'Super pesäpallo') is the highest level of the Finnish pesäpallo league system. Contested by 13 clubs in men's league and 12 clubs in women's league, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Ykköspesis (lit. 'First pesäpallo'). Seasons usually run from May to August, with each men's team playing around 30 matches and women's teams 24 matches in the regular and continuation series: two against each other, one at home and one away. After the regular season, a continuation series will be played to determine the 8 teams that make the play-offs and the teams that qualify for the knockout stage and the teams that are relegated. Games are played on weekday evenings and weekend afternoons, with matches usually starting at or before 18:00. Only a few teams have permanent artificial lighting (among them Imatran Pallo-Veikot), and day/night or nighttime matches are not held. The competition was founded in 1989, following the Finnish Championship (the top-tier league from 1955 to 1989). The Superpesis takes advantage of a €100,000 television rights deal with Nelonen Media and Yle securing the broadcasting rights to all Superpesis games, with many matches broadcast on national television. The Superpesis is run by a limited company owned by the Finnish Pesäpallo Association, with Olli Aro as a chief executive. In contrast to baseball tournaments like

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.