Ullevi

Ullevi

Location	Gothenburg, Sweden
Owner	Higab
Operator	Got Event
Capacity	43,000 75,000 for concerts
Field size	105 × 66 m
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	May 29, 1958
Architect	Sten Samuelsson and Fritz Jaenecke
Tenants
N/A

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 final, the UEFA Cup final in 2004, and annually hosted the opening ceremony of the Gothia Cup—the world's largest football tournament.

The stadium is one of the biggest in Scandinavia, with a seating capacity of 43,000 and a total capacity of 75,000 for concerts.

History

The record attendance, for football, is 52,194 and was set on 3 June 1959, when Örgryte IS played against IFK Göteborg.

A Bruce Springsteen concert on 8 June 1985, became notable because Springsteen – with the help of a very enthusiastic audience – almost rocked the stadium to pieces, literally. As the city rests on a layer of clay, the rhythmic movement of tens of thousands of people was close to causing a structural collapse. Even though Bruce Springsteen has made several more visits since, it is unlikely he will manage to repeat his feat, as the concrete pillars supporting the stadium have since been extended down to solid bedrock.

The record for the stadium, after being partially rebuilt, was set by Irish rock band U2, on 1 August 2009, with an attendance of 60,099.

During the 1980s, the stadium played host to the 1983 UEFA Cup Winners Cup final which saw Scotland's Aberdeen beat Spanish giants Real Madrid 2–1 after extra time.

Less known, it was also the venue for the first game between NFL teams ever played on the European continent, as Minnesota Vikings faced Chicago Bears, in a pre-season game, 14 August 1988.

Since March 2007, Ullevi has one of Sweden's largest solar power plants, consisting of 600 m² of solar photovoltaic panels situated on the roof of the luxury boxes section. The top effect is 86,4 kW and the yield is supposed to cover the total power used by the artificial lighting used for events, with a surplus.

David Bowie was scheduled to perform at the stadium during his Glass Spider Tour on June 27, 1987, but the show was cancelled.

Elton John hosted a sell-out concert in 1998. It was part of the Face-To-Face Tour with Billy Joel, but Joel was unable to perform, due to illness. Elton John played for over three hours.

Speedway

Ullevi has also hosted Motorcycle speedway and hosted the Speedway World Championship on no less than eight occasions, second only to Wembley Stadium in London, England which hosted the World Final a record 26 times. The track is a dirt surface laid out over the athletics track and is officially 404m long with a track record of 69.4 seconds (4 laps clutch start). The largest attendance for a World Final at Ullevi occurred in 1974 when 38,390 turned out to see Sweden's own Anders Michanek win his only World Championship with an unbeaten 15 point maximum.

Since the World Championship was changed in 1995 from a single meeting Final to the Speedway Grand Prix (SGP), Ullevi has hosted a round of the series in 2002, 2003, 2004 (Grand Prix of Scandinavia), 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 (Grand Prix of Sweden).

The pre-SGP Speedway World Final's held at Ullevi and the winners were:

• 1964 - Barry Briggs ()
• 1968 - Ivan Mauger ()
• 1971 - Ole Olsen ()
• 1974 - Anders Michanek ()
• 1977 - Ivan Mauger ()
• 1980 - Michael Lee ()
• 1984 - Erik Gundersen ()
• 1991 - Jan O. Pedersen ()

Record attendances

The east stand of Ullevi during the 2006 European Athletics Championships

Concerts

#	Event	Attendance	Date
1		Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Wrecking Ball Tour	66,561	28 July 2012
2	Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Wrecking Ball Tour	66,018	27 July 2012
3	Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Born in the U.S.A. Tour	64,312	8 June 1985
4	Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Born in the U.S.A. Tour	62,544	9 June 1985
5	David Bowie Serious Moonlight Tour	61,206	11 June 1983
6	U2 U2 360° Tour	60,099	1 August 2009
7	Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour	59,600	9 August 2009
8	Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour	59,400	8 August 2009
9	Gyllene Tider GT25 Summer Tour	58,977	7 August 2004
10	David Bowie Serious Moonlight Tour	58,914	12 June 1983

Sports

One day events

#	Event	Attendance	Date
1		Ingemar Johansson – Eddie Machen Boxing	53,614	14 September 1958
2	IFK Göteborg – Örgryte IS Football	52,194	4 June 1959
3	Sweden – Denmark Football	51,062	23 October 1960
4	Sweden – Göteborgsalliansen Football	50,989	29 May 1958
5	Brazil – Soviet Union Football	50,928	15 June 1958

Multi day events

#	Event	Attendance	Date
1		World Athletics Championships Athletics	592,240	4–13 August 1995
2	European Athletics Championships Athletics	269,038	6–13 August 2006
3	World Speed Skating Championships Speed Skating	69,599	13–14 February 1971
4	Finnkampen Athletics	51,567	4–5 September 2004
5	Finnkampen Athletics	49,366	28–29 August 1971

Location and transportation

Ullevi is located on the eastern edge of Gothenburg's city centre and is one of the center pieces of the event district Evenemangsstråket, with Scandinavium, Liseberg, Universeum, the Museum of World Culture, and Bergakungen nearby. Public transport is easily accessible, there are two tram stops named after the stadium; Ullevi Norra (North) and Ullevi Södra (South). Both tram stops serve lines 6 (orange) and 8 (purple), Ullevi Södra also serves lines 2 (yellow) and 13 (beige), while Ullevi Norra also serves lines 1 (white) and 3 (blue). Approximately 700 metres west of Ullevi lies the Gothenburg Central Station and Nils Ericson Terminal, 900 metres south of Ullevi lies Korsvägen, a major public transport hub which serves more than fifteen different bus lines and several tram lines, and the Liseberg station serving the Gothenburg commuter rail.

The stadium has 650 parking spaces located in a garage underneath the pitch. Additionally visitors are guided to eighteen nearby parking lots and parking garages—with a total of 7,000 parking spaces—by the event districts parking guidance and information system. The system has a total of 130 digital signs, located on motorways with information about which exit to use, and on streets in the city with more detailed information about directions and number of available parking spaces.

External links

• Ullevi — Official site