Nya Gamla Ullevi

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Nya Gamla Ullevi "Fotbollsarenan" (working titles)
Rendering of Nya Gamla Ullevi.
Location	Gothenburg, Sweden
Coordinates	57°42′22″N 11°58′50″E / 57.70611, 11.98056
Broke ground	9 January 2007
Opened	Spring 2009 (planned)
Owner	Gothenburg Municipality
Operator	Municipal company in cooperation with tenant clubs[1]
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	300 million SEK
Architect	Lars Iwdal, Arkitektbyrån
Main contractors	Higabgruppen
Tenants	GAIS IFK Göteborg Örgryte IS Sweden women's national football team (2008– or 2009–)
Capacity	17,800, of which 14,000 are sitting (2,400 on a combined sitting/standing terrace) and are 3,800 standing
Field dimensions	Unknown, possibly 105 x 68 m as on old stadium[2]

Nya Gamla Ullevi is a temporary name for a planned football stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. The name means New Old Ullevi and is a play on the name of the two current main stadiums of the city, Gamla Ullevi and (Nya) Ullevi. However the contractor, Higabgruppen, uses another name for the project, which is "Fotbollsarenan" ("The Football Arena"). Nya Gamla Ullevi is to replace Gamla Ullevi as the home arena for three Gothenburg clubs, GAIS, IFK Göteborg and Örgryte IS, as well as becoming the national stadium for the Sweden women's national football team. The new stadium is built on the ground of the now demolished old stadium.

[edit] History

See also: Gamla Ullevi and Ullevi

The three clubs of the Gothenburg Alliance (Göteborgsalliansen)—GAIS, IFK Göteborg and Örgryte IS—played the majority of their matches on 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.^[3]

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

[edit] 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 commissioner 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.^[6] Lars Iwdal said in a newspaper interview that^[6]

The Gothenburg Alliance had their annual meeting on 6 April 2005 and the board decided to support the plan,^[7] and on the 9 April the municipal board of Gothenburg arranged a press conference to show the plans.^[8] The new stadium, inspired amongst others by NRGi Park in Aarhus, Aalborg Stadion in Aalborg and mainly Brøndby Stadion in Copenhagen,^[9] 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.^[8][9]

Brøndby Stadion of Brøndby IF in Copenhagen seen during a match in 2006, the main—but not only—source of inspiration for Nya Gamla Ullevi.

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.^[9] 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,^[8] 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,^[10] 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,^[10] but the new schedule indicates that new stadium will 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 is probable that the few matches left of the season will not be played on the new stadium, and that the official opening will not take place until the start of the 2009 season.^[11][12]

[edit] Construction

The home (left) and away terrace (right) of the now demolished Gamla Ullevi.

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,^[9] which amongst several additions allowed for the construction of closed corners. The capacity will be 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 will also feature two large tv screens and 2,500 m² of commercial space and a 900 m² lounge with 18 private boxes.^[13]

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 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.^[14]

During construction, two of the clubs which previously had Gamla Ullevi as their home stadium, GAIS and IFK Göteborg, will play at the much larger Ullevi stadium, while the third club of the Alliance, Örgryte IS, will play on Valhalla IP. Nya Gamla Ullevi will 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.^[11] Nya Gamla Ullevi will be only the second Swedish top league stadium built since 1966, after Borås Arena that was opened in 2005.^[15]

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.^[16] The calculated cost for the stadium had at the same time risen to at least 300 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 almost 70 percent.^[17]

[edit] Controversy

The whole decision-making process, including the design and cost of the stadium, has been heavily criticised, both by supporters,^[18][19] media^[9] and the political opposition in Gothenburg.^[20] 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.^[9]

The current chairman, Anders Almgren, of the largest supporters' association in Gothenburg—Supporterklubben Änglarna supporting IFK Göteborg—wrote in a column that^[19]

[edit] Stadium name

The name that was used at the first press conference about the new stadium was Nya Gamla Ullevi, 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"—which already has been used on two stadiums, (Nya) Ullevi and Gamla Ullevi—as it would possibly be even more confusing than before. 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.^[8] Other suggestions include Victoria Arena and Gothia Arena,^[21] but the clubs are willing to sell the name of the stadium to a company to generate an extra source of income.^[22] Another alternative that has been discussed is to let the new stadium take over Ullevi's name, and in turn rename that stadium to something else, possibly including "Göteborg" or "Gothenburg" in the name.^[23]

[edit] See also

• Borås Arena
• Nya Kalmar Arena
• Swedbank Stadion
• Swedbank Arena, Solna

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Stadium Guide - Nya Gamla Ullevi
• Higabgruppen - "Fotbollsarenan" (Swedish)
• Higabgruppen - webcam at the construction site