Color Line Stadion

Color Line Stadion
Location Ålesund, Norway
Owner Aalesunds FK
Operator Aalesunds FK
Capacity 10,778 (Football)
Surface Artificial turf
Construction
Opened 16 April 2005
Construction cost NOK 160 million
Tenants
Aalesunds FK (2005–)
FK Fortuna Ålesund (2009–)

Color Line Stadion is a association football stadium in Ålesund, Norway, and the home of Norwegian Premier League side Aalesunds FK. It was inaugurated in April 2005 and cost NOK 160 million to build. It is referred to as Aalesund Stadion by UEFA.[1]

It was the first top-level stadium in Norway to feature artificial turf, which was at the time a highly debated issue. When Aalesund opened the stadium, businessman Olav Nils Sunde donated a statue to the club, which was erected in front of the stadium. Whilst Sunde denied it, the statue bore a very strong resemblance to former Aalesund player John Arne Riise. In 2007, when Riise played in the Champions League Final, a Norwegian commentator demanded the statue officially carry his name. Riise himself has said, "[The name change] is not for me to decide. Everyone sees who it is, and I know that it was made for me."[2]

Since 2009 it has also hosted the home games of the Norwegian Women's Premier League side Fortuna Ålesund. The venue has hosted one Norway national under-21 football team match, playing 1–3 against Cyprus on 3 September 2010.[3] In a 2012 survey carried out by the Norwegian Players' Association among away-team captains, Color Line Stadion was ranked eleventh amongst league stadiums, with a score of 2.87 on a scale from one to five.[4]

Facts

Stormen Supporters
South East Stand

Attendance

Norwegian Premier League
dagger Norwegian First Division
Attendance
Season Avg Min Max Rank Ref
2005 10,618 10,370 10,903 5 [5]
2006 9,950 9,028 10,771 1dagger [6]
2007 10,475 9,680 10,780 7 [7]
2008 10,363 9,724 10,778 6 [8]
2009 10,218 9,409 10,778 6 [9]
2010 10,146 9,500 10,778 5 [10]
2011 9,565 8,783 10,677 5 [11]
2012 9,183 8,324 10,247 6 [12]
2013 8,192 6,925 10,101 6 [13]

References

  1. "UEFA Europa League 2012/13 – Aalesunds FK". UEFA. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  2. "Which footballers have degrees?". The Guardian. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  3. "Norge Menn U21" (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  4. "Lerkendal nest beste fotballbane" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 November 2012. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  5. "Tilskuertall 2005". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  6. "Tilskuertall 2006". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  7. "Tilskuertall 2007". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  8. "Tilskuertall 2008". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  9. "Tilskuertall 2009". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  10. "Tilskuertall 2010". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  11. "Tilskuertall 2011". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  12. "Tilskuertall 2012". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  13. "Tilskuertall 2013". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Color Line Stadion.

Coordinates: 62°28′11.0″N 6°11′13.9″E / 62.469722°N 6.187194°E