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 either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. 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 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, and is the home ground of GAIS, IFK Göteborg and Örgryte IS. ...

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 Track tran ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

stadium by

track cycling Track cycling is a 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 infancy, it wa ...

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), competi ...

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

ice skating Ice skating is the 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. Ice skating may be per ...

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 doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

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 series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

exhibition match in 1896 between

GAIS , neighboring_municipalities= Altstätten (SG), Appenzell (AI), Bühler (AR), Eichberg (SG), Rüte (AI), Schlatt-Haslen (AI), Trogen (AR) , twintowns= } Gais () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden i ...

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) is a now defunct Swedish football club which was located in Gothenburg. They won the Swedish Championship in 1903. The club was founded in 1900 when the three clubs Göteborgs Velocipedklubb ...

, 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 simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...

to share the stadium in 1906, which was accepted. Due to a conflict in 1909, IFK temporarily moved to

Balders Hage Balders Hage was a ballcourt and public square in the centre of Gothenburg, Sweden. The ballcourt was inaugurated on 1 January 1898 but was abandoned in 1909 when Walhalla IP was built. The club Örgryte IS was founded in Balders Hage, and played so ...

, 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 country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

(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 w ...

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