Idrottsplatsen () is a former sports

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The stadium was in use between 1896 and 1915, and was located on the same site as the current

Gamla Ullevi Gamla Ullevi (, ) is a association football, 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 (1916), Gamla Ullevi, and is the home gr ...

stadium.

History

The stadium was originally built as a combination of

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

stadium by

track cycling Track cycling is a Cycle sport, bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its i ...

club Göteborgs Velocipedklubb in 1895–1896. Idrottsplatsen was opened on 28 June 1896, even though the curves of the velodrome were not fully completed until 1907. The centre field could be used for

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

as well, and during winter it was watered and used for

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

in sub-zero conditions. The venue also featured an indoor

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

and six outdoor courts, completed in 1901. Idrottsplatsen had one stand with room for 600 seated spectators. But many more could attend events; the

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

exhibition match in 1896 between

GAIS Gais () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The area of Gais is . In 1977, the village Gais received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage. The ...

wrestler Carl Gustafsson and Ottoman royal court wrestler Memisch Effendi set a record attendance of 10,000. Göteborgs VK merged with

IS Lyckans Soldater IS Lyckans Soldater (full name Idrotssällskapet Lyckans Soldater, commonly abbreviated LS) are a now defunct Swedish sports club located in Gothenburg, mostly remembered for its contribution for introducing association football to Sweden. The c ...

and Skridskosällskapet Norden in 1900 to form the new club

Göteborgs IF Göteborgs IF (full name Göteborgs Idrottsförbund) was a Swedish football club which was located in Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm ...

, which took ownership of the venue. They offered

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional Football team, football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it ...

to share the stadium in 1906, which was accepted. Due to a conflict in 1909, IFK temporarily moved to Balders Hage, but moved back to Idrottsplatsen the following year. The Swedish national team made their international debut in July 1908, winning 11–3 against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

(who also made their international debut) in front of 2,000–3,000 people at Idrottsplatsen. Tough competition from

Walhalla IP Walhalla Idrottsplats (short form Walhalla IP) was a sports stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden with a total capacity of 8,000. It was located near Korsvägen, on the site that currently is the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre. Walhalla IP was ...

that opened in 1908 gradually worsened the economy of Idrottsplatsen, and plans for a more modern stadium materialised. In 1915, Idrottsplatsen was started to be demolished to make room for its replacement,

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

, which opened in 1916.

Citations

References

* * * * * *

External links

IFK Göteborg official website – Gamla Ullevis historia
{{IFK Göteborg Sports venues in Gothenburg Football venues in Gothenburg IFK Göteborg 1896 establishments in Sweden Sports venues completed in 1896 19th-century establishments in Gothenburg and Bohus County 1916 disestablishments in Sweden 20th-century disestablishments in Gothenburg and Bohus County