Stavanger Stadion is a multi-use
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 ...
in
Stavanger
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
,
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 ...
. It was used mostly for
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 ...
matches and hosted the home matches of
Viking FK
Viking Fotballklubb, commonly known as Viking or Viking Stavanger internationally, is a Norwegian professional football club from the city of Stavanger. The club was founded in 1899. It is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian football, ...
. The stadium opened on 13 August 1917, and was able to hold 17,555 people at the end of its life as Viking's home ground in 2004. The west stand was the largest single-tier spectator stand in the country. The other stands were small roofless terraces without seating.
History

Stavanger Stadion was closed in 2004 when
Viking Stadion
Viking Stadion (currently named Lyse Arena for sponsorship reasons), is a football (soccer), football stadium in Stavanger, Norway. It was inaugurated in May 2004 and cost 160 million Norwegian krone, NOK (€20 million) to build. 50 million NOK, ...
opened, but was reopened a few years later as a
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
stadium after a major reconstruction of the spectator stands. Some of the seats from the old main stand were donated to
Sandnes Idrettspark
Sandnes Idrettspark is a multi-purpose sports parks located in Sandnes, Rogaland, Norway. It includes the Sandnes Stadion, Giskebanen, two artificial football pitches, basketball courts, tennis courts, a gymnasium track and the Øster Hus Arena ...
.
Unlike Viking Stadion, which was built outside the city centre, Stavanger Stadion is located within walking distance from downtown Stavanger.
The attendance record of 18,892 spectators dates from 4 October 1959, when Viking met
Odd in the semi-final of the
Norwegian Cup
The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...
.
The venue has hosted the Norwegian Athletics Championships in 1923, 1956 and 1972.
Between 1966 and 1990 Stavanger Stadion hosted nine
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 ...
international matches, including a 2-1 win against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in 1971 and four 1-1 draws with
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
in 1966, 1975, 1979 and 1982 respectively. The remaining four matches included a 3-0 win against
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
in 1969, a 4-1 win against
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
in 1972, a 1-1 draw against
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
in 1983, and a 2-1 defeat to
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 ...
in 1990. The Sweden game was the last international Norway played at the stadium and was also the only one of the nine matches they played there that ended with a defeat.
The venue also hosted the
Norway national under-21 football team
The Norway national under-21 football team, administered and controlled by the Norwegian Football Federation, is the Norway national football team, national football team of Norway for players of 21 years of age or under at the start of a UEFA E ...
on seven occasions, playing 0–0 against the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
5 June 1974, 6–0 against
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
on 5 June 1991, 1–1 against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
on 1 June 1993, 3–1 against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
on 21 September 1993, 3–4 against the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
on 15 August 1995, 2–2 against England on 10 October 1995 and 1–2 against Poland on 24 March 2001.
References
Athletics (track and field) venues in Norway
Football venues in Norway
Eliteserien venues
Norwegian Cup Final venues
Sports venues in Stavanger
1917 establishments in Norway
Event venues established in 1917
Viking FK
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