In less than a year time two large brand new stadiums have opened in Stockholm. First there was the 50,000-capacity Friends Arena, which has now been followed by the slightly smaller Tele2 Arena.
The result is that all three of Stockholm’s big football clubs now play in a new home: AIK in the Friends Arena, and Hammarby and Djurgårdens in the Tele2 Arena.
The Tele2 Arena is more than just a football ground though, as it has been specifically built to serve as a major concert venue. It is therefore no surprise that large entertainment group AEG, who also own Hammarby, had a strong hand in the construction of the new arena. Thus far, Nordic bands Gyllene Tider and Volbeat have already been booked to play at the arena, while the official opening on the 24th of August will also be a concert night.
Football had the honour to first use the Tele2 Arena though, and with two clubs sharing there was the inevitable conflict of who could kick off first. The obvious choice were Hammarby as they had been the destined occupant of the arena all along, while Djurgårdens only joined up when their own new stadium plans fell through. The league match versus Örgryte had to be the occasion.
Things went slightly out of hand though when a Djurgårdens veteran team got to play a test match at the stadium, which Hammarby fans considered to be an illegal opening. While feeling somewhat hard done by was not that unreasonable, placing a bomb outside the stadium during that test match was a slight overreaction.
However, in the end veteran test matches don’t really count, and Saturday’s match versus Örgryte was therefore the one that will go into the history books. Djurgårdens fans had their own opening one day later when they squared off versus Norrköping, and the festivities were capped off when Hammary received Paris Saint-Germain for a friendly. On all occasions the 30,000-arena was sold out or close to a sell-out.
(Photo credits: Wikimedia user Swedishpenguin)