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Gamla Ullevi (2008)
Encyclopedia
Gamla Ullevi is a football stadium
in Gothenburg
, Sweden
that opened on 5 April 2009. The stadium replaced the city's previous main football stadium, also called Gamla Ullevi, and is the home ground of three football clubs: GAIS
, IFK Göteborg
and Örgryte IS
. It is also the national stadium for the Sweden women's national football team
. The new stadium was built on the ground of the now demolished old stadium. The construction of the stadium was surrounded by controversy, regarding the cost of the project, the supposedly low standard of the finished stadium, as well as the name of the stadium.
, IFK Göteborg
and Örgryte IS
—played the majority of their matches on the old Gamla Ullevi from its inauguration in 1916 until the newer Ullevi
stadium was completed in 1958 for the 1958 World Cup
in Sweden. From that year most matches where played on the large stadium with a capacity of over 40,000, but as the attendance numbers decreased in the 1980s and early 1990s, and in connection with the removal of the terraces, calls for a move back to the old stadium was heard. After a renovation, Gamla Ullevi was from 1992 once again the home of the Alliance clubs.
But playing on a stadium built almost 100 years ago was not ideal, lacking in service capacity, security, and architecture, the terraces having poles obscuring the view for the audience. Propositions for a modernisation of either of the two Ullevi stadiums, or construction of a new stadium were revealed in April 2002. Four different plans were presented; construction of movable seating
on the short ends of Ullevi, two different ideas for renovation and expansion of Gamla Ullevi, or to demolish Gamla Ullevi and construct a new arena on that site.
Other propositions in 2002 and 2003 included building a new stadium in Mölndal
, a neighbour municipality of Gothenburg, a new stadium built on the site of the old stadium Valhalla IP
, located between Ullevi and Scandinavium
, and a third suggestion wanted to demolish Gamla Ullevi and move all football activities to the larger Ullevi which would be rebuilt to a dome
arena, with a rotatable pitch that would move it closer to the seats for regular season matches.
Another plan was revealed in January 2005, and proposed a giant sport complex on the site of Valhalla IP, having both a football stadium (28,000 seats) with a retractable roof
and an ice hockey
arena (12,000 seats) built wall to wall, sharing several components such as pubs and restaurants. The cost was calculated to 700 million SEK
, and the complex would be owned by the three football clubs and the largest hockey club in the city, Frölunda HC
.
Göran Johansson
presented his plan for the new football stadium at the site of Gamla Ullevi—and the idea to make it the national stadium
for the women's national team—to the contractor Higabgruppen, and in early 2005 architect Lars Iwdal got a confidential assignment from Higabgruppen to create a first sketch of the new stadium. Lars Iwdal said in a newspaper interview that
The Gothenburg Alliance had their annual meeting on 6 April 2005 and the board decided to support the plan, and on the 9 April the municipal board of Gothenburg
arranged a press conference to show the plans. The new stadium, inspired amongst others by NRGi Park
in Aarhus
, Aalborg Stadion
in Aalborg
and mainly Brøndby Stadion
in Copenhagen
, was to have a capacity of 16,000–18,000 and have open corners; the construction cost was estimated to 180 million SEK for the stadium and a total of 240 million SEK including commercial areas in and around it.
The debate in the media following the press conference was mostly about the open corners, if the surface should be grass or artificial turf, and what the name of the stadium should be. The contractor, Higabgruppen, were reluctant to close the corners of the stadium, claiming a very tight budget and possible growth problems for the grass if that was chosen as surface. The original plan was to demolish Gamla Ullevi after the 2005 season
, and to open the new stadium at the beginning of the 2007 season
, but the plan was delayed and Gamla Ullevi was not torn down in 2005.
Instead, new plans called for the demolishing of the old stadium a few matchdays before the end of the 2006 season
on 1 October 2006, but paperwork once again postponed the start and the demolishing of the old stadium started several months later on 9 January 2007. This also delayed the construction which was planned to be finished for the start of the 2008 season
in April, but the new schedule indicated that the stadium would not be finished until the autumn of 2008, probably around September or October. As the Swedish football season ends in late October or early November, it was decided that the few matches left of the season would not be played on the new stadium, and that the official opening would not take place until the start of the 2009 season
.
The final plan of the stadium and its facilities was settled in December 2006 and included several improvements compared to the early plans presented in 2005. The total budget of 240 million SEK that was said to have been very tight had been increased to 270 million SEK, which amongst several additions allowed for the construction of closed corners. The original plans aimed for a capacity of 17,800 divided on 14,000 seats—of which 2,400 seats can be transformed to terraces if needed—and a terrace capacity of 3,800. The stadium was also planned to feature two large tv screens and 2,500 m² of commercial space and a 900 m² lounge with 18 private boxes
.
There will be no retractable roof—only roof over the stands—as the cost for that alone would be 300 million SEK, more than the original projected cost of the whole stadium itself, but there is a possibility to build such in the future if there is need for it. Nya Gamla Ullevi will also have natural grass on the pitch since the stadium will host matches of the 2009 European U-21 Championship
, where all matches must be played on grass. As with a retractable roof, there is a possibility to change to artificial turf in the future. There are also some concerns that the natural grass may not grow very well since the closed corners and high stand prevent wind and sun to reach the pitch.
During construction, two of the clubs which previously had Gamla Ullevi as their home stadium, GAIS and IFK Göteborg, played at the much larger Ullevi stadium, while the third club of the Alliance, Örgryte IS, played on Valhalla IP
. It was originally said that Nya Gamla Ullevi would be officially opened with a match played between an Alliance team—featuring players from the three Alliance clubs just like when Gamla Ullevi was reopened in 1992—and the Sweden national team
or a European top club. Later it was proposed that the women's national team
might play the opening match, with an Alliance team playing a second opening match. Nya Gamla Ullevi will be only the second Swedish top league
stadium built since 1966, after Borås Arena
that was opened in 2005.
The construction proceeded as planned and work on the foundations was finished by January 2008 according to the project manager Jan-Åke Johansson from Higabgruppen. He also stated that the stadium's walls and roof would be finished by August 2008—except for the southwestern corner which would remain open a bit longer to allow construction vehicles and cranes to move in and out—and that only interior work would be left to do at that point. The calculated cost for the stadium had at the same time risen to at least 335 million SEK excluding commercial areas and possibly even more than that when finished in 2009. Compared to the 180 million SEK which was the calculated cost for the original plans, the newer and somewhat modified plans have increased the cost by 86 percent.
Some of the original specifications have changed over the time as well, the 900 m² lounge was expanded to 1,100 m² and nine additional private boxes were added to the original 18. Even the capacity has changed, as it was discovered during the installation of the seats—coloured light green and grey, a somewhat controversial decision given the colours of the three clubs that will be playing on the stadium—that more than planned could be fitted, which would allow room for another 1,000 seated spectators and thus extending the capacity to 18,800. The construction work has not seen any major complications and the stadium was planned to be completed by 30 November 2008.
The final inspection and the grass pitch installation was begun on 4 December, and the only remaining work on the stadium itself at that date was the furnishing of the commercial spaces and other complementary installments. On 13–14 December the three Alliance clubs arranges an open house
weekend where supporters can inspect the stadium in person. The opening match has yet to be decided, but the options have been radically reduced since IFK director of sports Håkan Mild
ruled out the alternative of an Alliance team playing against a national team or a European top club, and as the plan of an opening match involving the women's national team was discarded. The most likely is that ÖIS and GAIS will play the opening match at the start of Allsvenskan 2009
, the clubs have made a request to the football association to have play that derby match on the first matchday of the season.
—but it was also said that it was only a temporary name and that the final name of the stadium would not likely include the word "Ullevi" as it would possibly be even more confusing than before. The contractor, Higabgruppen
, used another name for the project, "Fotbollsarenan" ("The Football Arena"). An early name discussed was Gunnar Grens Arena, named after Gunnar Gren
, one of the best Swedish footballers in history and a player that played for all three of the Alliance clubs, and who has already been honoured with a statue outside the old stadium. Other suggestions included Victoria Arena and Gothia Arena, but the clubs were also willing to sell the name of the stadium to a company to generate an extra source of income.
Another alternative that had been discussed and which gained support by all sides—ruling politicians, politicians in opposition, involved organisations and the general public—as time had passed was to let the new stadium take over Ullevi's name, and in turn rename that stadium to something else, possibly including "Göteborg", "Gothia" or "Gothenburg" in the name. On 8 September 2008, the final decision on the naming of the stadium was given to Sture Allén
—member and former secretary of the Swedish Academy
and retired professor in computational linguistics
—in cooperation with the municipal
naming committee. Their decision was presented on 1 October 2008 and supported the idea of naming the stadium Gamla Ullevi, the name used by the demolished stadium formerly located on the same place. The proposed name was then approved by the municipal executive committee
on 15 October 2008. A plan to sell the names of the four main stands to four companies was also presented.
The name Ullevi itself consists of two parts. The first part of the name, "Ulle-" is the genitive form of Ullr
( or Uller) which is one of the Æsir
—a god in Norse paganism
—associated with traits such as skiing, archery, hunting and justice, all connected to sports in one way or another. The second part of the name, "-vi" is a generic term used in several Swedish place names that refers to a shrine
, a sacred place or a thing
. The name thus means something along the lines of "Ullr's shrine". There is another large stadium in the Nordic countries named after Ullr, the national stadium of the Norwegian national football team
, Ullevaal
.
Football expert and former editor of the football magazine Offside
, Mattias Göransson, called the stadium an "amateur construction" which would lead to future conflicts, mentioning amongst other things the lack of restaurants, office space and parking garage
. The current chairman, Anders Almgren, of the largest supporters' association in Gothenburg—Supporterklubben Änglarna
supporting IFK Göteborg—wrote in a column that
! Season
! IFK Göteborg
! GAIS
! Örgryte IS>
2009
13,813
5,687
4,939
2010
10,489
4,666
2,264
2011
10,849
5,933
1,496
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
that opened on 5 April 2009. The stadium replaced the city's previous main football stadium, also called Gamla Ullevi, and is the home ground of three football clubs: GAIS
GAIS
Göteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg, currently playing in Allsvenskan. The club is commonly referred to simply as GAIS, while its fans also refers to the club as grönsvart or the mackerels because of the traditional shirt colours...
, IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....
and Örgryte IS
Örgryte IS
Örgryte IS, also commonly referred to as ÖIS, is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg.-History:The club was founded on 4 December 1887 and participated in the first football match in Sweden on 22 May 1892. Örgryte IS has won 12 national championship titles and one national cup title. After...
. It is also the national stadium for the Sweden women's national football team
Sweden women's national football team
Sweden women's national football team are a football team officially representing Sweden in women's football. They won the unofficial European Championships in 1984, a success the team has not managed to repeat, it has however won one World Cup-silver as well as three European Cup-silvers...
. The new stadium was built on the ground of the now demolished old stadium. The construction of the stadium was surrounded by controversy, regarding the cost of the project, the supposedly low standard of the finished stadium, as well as the name of the stadium.
Background
The three clubs of the Gothenburg Alliance (Göteborgsalliansen)—GAISGAIS
Göteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg, currently playing in Allsvenskan. The club is commonly referred to simply as GAIS, while its fans also refers to the club as grönsvart or the mackerels because of the traditional shirt colours...
, IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....
and Örgryte IS
Örgryte IS
Örgryte IS, also commonly referred to as ÖIS, is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg.-History:The club was founded on 4 December 1887 and participated in the first football match in Sweden on 22 May 1892. Örgryte IS has won 12 national championship titles and one national cup title. After...
—played the majority of their matches on the old Gamla Ullevi from its inauguration in 1916 until the newer Ullevi
Ullevi
Ullevi is a stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. The stadium was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then Ullevi has also hosted the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and the 2006 European Championships in Athletics, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1983 and 1990, the UEFA Euro 1992...
stadium was completed in 1958 for the 1958 World Cup
1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European...
in Sweden. From that year most matches where played on the large stadium with a capacity of over 40,000, but as the attendance numbers decreased in the 1980s and early 1990s, and in connection with the removal of the terraces, calls for a move back to the old stadium was heard. After a renovation, Gamla Ullevi was from 1992 once again the home of the Alliance clubs.
But playing on a stadium built almost 100 years ago was not ideal, lacking in service capacity, security, and architecture, the terraces having poles obscuring the view for the audience. Propositions for a modernisation of either of the two Ullevi stadiums, or construction of a new stadium were revealed in April 2002. Four different plans were presented; construction of movable seating
Movable seating
Movable seating is a feature of some facilities like stadiums, often known as convertible stadiums, or moduable stadiums. It allows for the movement of parts of the grandstand to allow for a change of the playing surface shape...
on the short ends of Ullevi, two different ideas for renovation and expansion of Gamla Ullevi, or to demolish Gamla Ullevi and construct a new arena on that site.
Other propositions in 2002 and 2003 included building a new stadium in Mölndal
Mölndal
Mölndal is a part of the Gothenburg urban area on the west-coast of Sweden, and constitutes the administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live here.-Geography:...
, a neighbour municipality of Gothenburg, a new stadium built on the site of the old stadium Valhalla IP
Valhalla IP
Valhalla IP is a stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden which is home to several teams, for both Damallsvenskan and Superettan, Örgryte IS, Qviding FIF and the ladie team Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC. The stadium is situated close the river Mölndalsån and Burgårdsparken of the town and is named after the...
, located between Ullevi and Scandinavium
Scandinavium
Scandinavium is the primary indoor sports and event arena in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, the arena was built in time for the 350th year anniversary celebration of the City of Gothenburg and was inaugurated on May 18, 1971.Scandinavium...
, and a third suggestion wanted to demolish Gamla Ullevi and move all football activities to the larger Ullevi which would be rebuilt to a dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
arena, with a rotatable pitch that would move it closer to the seats for regular season matches.
Another plan was revealed in January 2005, and proposed a giant sport complex on the site of Valhalla IP, having both a football stadium (28,000 seats) with a retractable roof
Retractable roof
A retractable roof is a kinetic architectural element used in many sports venues, in which a roof made of a suitable material can readily be mechanically deployed from some retracted or open position into a closed or extended position that completely covers the field of play and spectator areas...
and an ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
arena (12,000 seats) built wall to wall, sharing several components such as pubs and restaurants. The cost was calculated to 700 million SEK
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
, and the complex would be owned by the three football clubs and the largest hockey club in the city, Frölunda HC
Frölunda HC
Frölunda Hockey Club, also known as the Frölunda Indians, are a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They are currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Elitserien, where they have played the majority of the seasons during its existence. The last time they played in the...
.
Decision
The proposition that was decided to be used was to demolish Gamla Ullevi and to build a new stadium on the grounds of the old. Municipal commissionerMunicipal Commissioner
Municipal Commissioner is an office and political title in the municipalities of Sweden for councillors with executive responsibilities. The Commissioners are the only full-time employed office-holders outside the municipal civil service...
Göran Johansson
Göran Johansson
Göran Johansson is a Swedish Social Democratic Party politician. He is currently the chairman of the Gothenburg Municipality Executive Board...
presented his plan for the new football stadium at the site of Gamla Ullevi—and the idea to make it the national stadium
National stadium
Many countries have a national football stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadium. Usually, a national stadium will be in or very...
for the women's national team—to the contractor Higabgruppen, and in early 2005 architect Lars Iwdal got a confidential assignment from Higabgruppen to create a first sketch of the new stadium. Lars Iwdal said in a newspaper interview that
The Gothenburg Alliance had their annual meeting on 6 April 2005 and the board decided to support the plan, and on the 9 April the municipal board of Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
arranged a press conference to show the plans. The new stadium, inspired amongst others by NRGi Park
Atletion
Atletion is a combinated sport venue, in Aarhus, Denmark, where the football stadium and the arena are the main parts.-NRGi Park:After the expansion of the stadium in 2001, there are now seats for 20,032 spectators. It's a modern stadium, and the pitch is heated, so even the first games of the...
in Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
, Aalborg Stadion
Aalborg Stadion
Energi Nord Arena is a football stadium located in the Aalborg Stadion stadium complex. It is the home ground of AaB. It has a capacity of 13,797 of which 8,997 is seated...
in Aalborg
Aalborg
-Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....
and mainly Brøndby Stadion
Brøndby Stadium
Brøndby Stadium is the homeground of football club Brøndby IF, situated in the Greater Copenhagen area. It is referred to as Vilfort Park among Brøndby supporters, named after club legend Kim Vilfort.-History:...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, was to have a capacity of 16,000–18,000 and have open corners; the construction cost was estimated to 180 million SEK for the stadium and a total of 240 million SEK including commercial areas in and around it.
2005 in Swedish football
The 2005 season in Swedish football, starting January 2005 and ending December 2005:- Events :*26 May 2005: IFK Göteborg loses the historical first final of the Royal League against FC København after 1–1 in full time and 26 penalties in the shoot-out....
, and to open the new stadium at the beginning of the 2007 season
2007 in Swedish football
The 2007 season in Swedish football, starting January 2007 and ending December 2007:- Official titles :- Competitions :- Promotions :- Relegations :- International qualifications :- Allsvenskan 2007 :- Superettan 2007 :...
, but the plan was delayed and Gamla Ullevi was not torn down in 2005.
Instead, new plans called for the demolishing of the old stadium a few matchdays before the end of the 2006 season
2006 in Swedish football
The 2006 season in Swedish football, starting January 2006 and ending December 2006:- Events :* 18 January 2006: The Swedish national team plays a friendly in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia against the hosts, causing upset home in Sweden when it is revealed that no women are allowed at the stadium.* 2...
on 1 October 2006, but paperwork once again postponed the start and the demolishing of the old stadium started several months later on 9 January 2007. This also delayed the construction which was planned to be finished for the start of the 2008 season
2008 in Swedish football
The 2008 season in Swedish football, starting January 2008 and ending December 2008:- Official titles :- Competitions :- Promotions :- Relegations :- International qualifications :- 2008 Allsvenskan 2008 :...
in April, but the new schedule indicated that the stadium would not be finished until the autumn of 2008, probably around September or October. As the Swedish football season ends in late October or early November, it was decided that the few matches left of the season would not be played on the new stadium, and that the official opening would not take place until the start of the 2009 season
2009 in Swedish football
The 2009 season in Swedish football, starting January 2009 and ending December 2009:- Official titles :- Competitions :- Promotions :- Relegations :- International qualifications :- 2009 Allsvenskan :...
.
Construction
Luxury box
A Luxury box is a special seating section located within stadiums, arenas and other sporting and entertainment venues. They are typically located in the midsection of a stadium grandstand, usually providing the best views of the event...
.
There will be no retractable roof—only roof over the stands—as the cost for that alone would be 300 million SEK, more than the original projected cost of the whole stadium itself, but there is a possibility to build such in the future if there is need for it. Nya Gamla Ullevi will also have natural grass on the pitch since the stadium will host matches of the 2009 European U-21 Championship
2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year 2006-07 competition, which allowed the change to...
, where all matches must be played on grass. As with a retractable roof, there is a possibility to change to artificial turf in the future. There are also some concerns that the natural grass may not grow very well since the closed corners and high stand prevent wind and sun to reach the pitch.
During construction, two of the clubs which previously had Gamla Ullevi as their home stadium, GAIS and IFK Göteborg, played at the much larger Ullevi stadium, while the third club of the Alliance, Örgryte IS, played on Valhalla IP
Valhalla IP
Valhalla IP is a stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden which is home to several teams, for both Damallsvenskan and Superettan, Örgryte IS, Qviding FIF and the ladie team Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC. The stadium is situated close the river Mölndalsån and Burgårdsparken of the town and is named after the...
. It was originally said that Nya Gamla Ullevi would be officially opened with a match played between an Alliance team—featuring players from the three Alliance clubs just like when Gamla Ullevi was reopened in 1992—and the Sweden national team
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
or a European top club. Later it was proposed that the women's national team
Sweden women's national football team
Sweden women's national football team are a football team officially representing Sweden in women's football. They won the unofficial European Championships in 1984, a success the team has not managed to repeat, it has however won one World Cup-silver as well as three European Cup-silvers...
might play the opening match, with an Alliance team playing a second opening match. Nya Gamla Ullevi will be only the second Swedish top league
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...
stadium built since 1966, after Borås Arena
Borås Arena
Borås Arena is a football stadium in Borås, Sweden. It is the home ground of IF Elfsborg and Norrby IF and was opened in 2005. Borås Arena has an artificial turf pitch, Playfoot XM40 by FieldTurf, and has a capacity of 14,500–17,800 depending on usage. Both clubs presently using the stadium...
that was opened in 2005.
Some of the original specifications have changed over the time as well, the 900 m² lounge was expanded to 1,100 m² and nine additional private boxes were added to the original 18. Even the capacity has changed, as it was discovered during the installation of the seats—coloured light green and grey, a somewhat controversial decision given the colours of the three clubs that will be playing on the stadium—that more than planned could be fitted, which would allow room for another 1,000 seated spectators and thus extending the capacity to 18,800. The construction work has not seen any major complications and the stadium was planned to be completed by 30 November 2008.
The final inspection and the grass pitch installation was begun on 4 December, and the only remaining work on the stadium itself at that date was the furnishing of the commercial spaces and other complementary installments. On 13–14 December the three Alliance clubs arranges an open house
Open House
Open House may refer to:*Open house , a common school event held in the United States and Canada*Open House , a 1960 album by jazz organist Jimmy Smith*Open House , a 2004 independent film...
weekend where supporters can inspect the stadium in person. The opening match has yet to be decided, but the options have been radically reduced since IFK director of sports Håkan Mild
Håkan Mild
Stig Håkan Mild is a former Swedish football midfielder and current director of sports of IFK Göteborg, his main club as player, with which he won four Swedish Championships...
ruled out the alternative of an Alliance team playing against a national team or a European top club, and as the plan of an opening match involving the women's national team was discarded. The most likely is that ÖIS and GAIS will play the opening match at the start of Allsvenskan 2009
Allsvenskan 2009
Allsvenskan 2009, part of the 2009 Swedish football season, was the 85th Allsvenskan season played. AIK clinched their first Swedish title since 1998.- Participating teams :- Overview :- League table :- Results :...
, the clubs have made a request to the football association to have play that derby match on the first matchday of the season.
Naming
The name that was used at the first press conference about the new stadium was Nya Gamla Ullevi—meaning New Old Ullevi, a play on the name of the previous two main stadiums of the city, Gamla Ullevi and (Nya) UlleviUllevi
Ullevi is a stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. The stadium was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then Ullevi has also hosted the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and the 2006 European Championships in Athletics, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1983 and 1990, the UEFA Euro 1992...
—but it was also said that it was only a temporary name and that the final name of the stadium would not likely include the word "Ullevi" as it would possibly be even more confusing than before. The contractor, Higabgruppen
Higabgruppen
Higabgruppen is a municipal company wholly owned by Gothenburg Municipality in Sweden. The company was formed in 1966 as Hantverks- och Industrihus i Göteborg AB with the purpose to administer and develop many of the public buildings in the municipality. The company also acts as a contractor from...
, used another name for the project, "Fotbollsarenan" ("The Football Arena"). An early name discussed was Gunnar Grens Arena, named after Gunnar Gren
Gunnar Gren
Gunnar Gren was a Swedish football player and coach. He is best known for playing for IFK Gothenburg and AC Milan. He was part of the famous "Gre-No-Li" trio of forwards at A.C. Milan and the Swedish national team...
, one of the best Swedish footballers in history and a player that played for all three of the Alliance clubs, and who has already been honoured with a statue outside the old stadium. Other suggestions included Victoria Arena and Gothia Arena, but the clubs were also willing to sell the name of the stadium to a company to generate an extra source of income.
Another alternative that had been discussed and which gained support by all sides—ruling politicians, politicians in opposition, involved organisations and the general public—as time had passed was to let the new stadium take over Ullevi's name, and in turn rename that stadium to something else, possibly including "Göteborg", "Gothia" or "Gothenburg" in the name. On 8 September 2008, the final decision on the naming of the stadium was given to Sture Allén
Sture Allén
Sture Allén is a Swedish retired professor of computational linguistics at the University of Gothenburg, who was the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy between 1986 and 1999. He was elected to chair 3 of the Swedish Academy in 1980. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and...
—member and former secretary of the Swedish Academy
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
and retired professor in computational linguistics
Computational linguistics
Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the statistical or rule-based modeling of natural language from a computational perspective....
—in cooperation with the municipal
Gothenburg Municipality
Gothenburg Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Gothenburg....
naming committee. Their decision was presented on 1 October 2008 and supported the idea of naming the stadium Gamla Ullevi, the name used by the demolished stadium formerly located on the same place. The proposed name was then approved by the municipal executive committee
Kommunstyrelse
The Kommunstyrelse is the executive branch of local government in each of the 290 municipalities of Sweden. The term used in the English version of the Swedish Local Government Act is municipal executive committee...
on 15 October 2008. A plan to sell the names of the four main stands to four companies was also presented.
The name Ullevi itself consists of two parts. The first part of the name, "Ulle-" is the genitive form of Ullr
Ullr
In early Germanic paganism, *Wulþuz appears to have been a major god, or an epithet of an important god, in prehistoric times....
( or Uller) which is one of the Æsir
Æsir
In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...
—a god in Norse paganism
Norse paganism
Norse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...
—associated with traits such as skiing, archery, hunting and justice, all connected to sports in one way or another. The second part of the name, "-vi" is a generic term used in several Swedish place names that refers to a shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
, a sacred place or a thing
Thing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
. The name thus means something along the lines of "Ullr's shrine". There is another large stadium in the Nordic countries named after Ullr, the national stadium of the Norwegian national football team
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
, Ullevaal
Ullevaal Stadion
Ullevaal Stadion is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of Vålerenga IF and the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of FK Lyn. With a capacity of 25,572, it is the...
.
Controversy
The whole decision-making process, including the design and cost of the stadium, has been heavily criticised, both by supporters, media and the political opposition in Gothenburg. Points of criticism include the big mystery making and hastiness around the decision, the lack of visions including the tight and low budget, and the involvement of too much politics in the process. Some of the criticism was answered as the budget was slightly raised to allow closed corners, but several points were never discussed. One such example includes that the main inspiration was Brøndby Stadion, a stadium that now is undergoing an overhaul as the commercial areas were deemed insufficient.Football expert and former editor of the football magazine Offside
Offside (magazine)
Offside is a Swedish football magazine. It is published six times a year but there are often an extra issue published in connection to larger events, such as the FIFA World Cup. It takes its name from the football law of the same name. The magazine was started in March 2000 and had an average...
, Mattias Göransson, called the stadium an "amateur construction" which would lead to future conflicts, mentioning amongst other things the lack of restaurants, office space and parking garage
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
. The current chairman, Anders Almgren, of the largest supporters' association in Gothenburg—Supporterklubben Änglarna
Supporterklubben Änglarna
Supporterklubben Änglarna , often called only Änglarna, is the official supporters' association of the Swedish football club IFK Göteborg, from Gothenburg. Änglarna is not attached to the club, and is controlled and organised by people not hired by the club...
supporting IFK Göteborg—wrote in a column that
Average attendances
! IFK Göteborg
! GAIS
! Örgryte IS>
2010 Allsvenskan
- Overview :-League table:-Relegation play-offs:-----Results:...
2011 Allsvenskan
The 2011 Allsvenskan, part of the 2011 Swedish football season, was the 87th season of Allsvenskan since its establishment in 1924. The preliminary 2011 fixtures were released on 15 December 2010. The season began on 2 April 2011 and ended on 23 October 2011...