History Malmö Stadion

pelé playing brazil @ malmö stadion in exhibition match against malmö ff in 1960



malmö ff supporters in allsvenskan match against hammarby if in 2008



the exterior of southern stand of malmö stadion in 2014



the exterior of northern stand of malmö stadion in 2013

plans build new stadium in malmö originated in 1943, when local officials deemed malmö ip small major events. however, city council not agree build new stadium, , matter dropped time being. not until sweden chosen host 1958 fifa world cup question resurfaced. location of stadium main subject of discussion: suggested suburban location in jägersro, while others thought stadium should located in central malmö, near neighbourhood of pildammsparken. proponents of central location won day; site confirmed in 1954.

the plans agreed upon in 1956, , building started on 5 june year, when chairman of city s sports committee turned first sod. ground officially opened 2 years later, on 28 may 1958. @ time of stadium s inauguration, held 31,000 spectators. designed architects sten samuelsson , fritz jaenecke, designed of world cup stadiums, ullevi in city of gothenburg; result, 2 grounds share many architectural features. during world cup, stadium hosted 3 matches: west germany vs argentina in group 1, inaugural match of stadium; west germany vs northern ireland, in group 1; northern ireland vs czechoslovakia, in group 1 play-off; and, finally, west germany vs yugoslavia in quarter-final round.

during 1992 uefa european football championship (commonly called euro 1992), malmö stadion hosted 3 matches in group 1, comprised national teams of sweden, denmark, england , france. none of matches played in malmö involved sweden, however, host nation played of matches @ råsunda, stadium in capital city stockholm.

malmö allmänna idrottsförening (mai), largest athletics club in malmö, have used stadium training purposes , outdoor competition since stadium s inauguration in 1958. mai organises own international athletic competition, mai gala, has been held since 1930s. hosted @ malmö ip, moved malmö stadion after construction. notable athletes have competed in gala marion jones, maurice greene, sergej bubka , kajsa bergqvist.

malmö stadion served home ground of association football club malmö ff between 1958 , 2008. team moved stadium on opening in 1958, leaving original home ground @ malmö ip so. first malmö ff match @ new ground played on 8 august 1958; in allsvenskan fixture, malmö ff took on cross-town rivals, ifk malmö, had moved stadium malmö ip. played in front of 17,368 fans, game ended 4–4 draw. ifk relegated allsvenskan in 1962, , have not returned first tier since, club continues play @ malmö stadion nonetheless. malmö ff experienced average attendance of around 13,000 first ten years @ stadium; average crowds dropped below 10,000 end of 1970s. 1990s, attendances @ all-time low, less 5,000 people on average coming malmö ff matches. club therefore let malmö stadion newly renovated malmö ip in 1999, ifk malmö followed in august same year. time ifk malmö playing in division 2, third tier in swedish league system. during seasons in allsvenskan, ifk malmö had attracted average attendance of around 10,000 spectators between 1957–58 , 1962. ifk malmö s attendance @ malmö stadion reached peak during 1960 season when club finished runners-up in allsvenskan , attracted 12,787 spectators on average stadium. attendance had decreased around 1,000 spectators per match in 1999 when club had dropped in league.

malmö ff s move malmö ip occurred during second half of 1999 allsvenskan. became apparent club malmö ip small, , lacked safety facilities malmö stadion offered. when malmö ff relegated second tier of swedish football @ end of 1999 season, club board decided move team malmö stadion before next season started. ifk malmö, stayed @ malmö ip. after malmö ff promoted allsvenskan after 1 season in second division, superettan, average attendance began rise. malmö ff s average crowd during 2001 allsvenskan season 11,315; first time since 1970s club had drawn average crowd of more 10,000 spectators. average attendances increased year on year malmö ff experienced successful period. in 2004 allsvenskan season, malmö ff won first swedish championship since 1988, team set new club record attendances on season, average of 20,061 spectators watching malmö ff matches. around time, both club , fans began feel malmö stadion had served purpose, ageing stadium began deteriorate. fans expressed discontent distance between pitch , stands, necessitated running tracks surrounding playing area.

malmö stad, city council, announced on 25 april 2005 intention either club renovate malmö stadion, or build new stadium in same area. 4 days later, 5 different scenarios laid out municipality: first proposed construction of entirely new, football-specific stadium south of malmö stadion, while second suggested demolition of malmö stadion, , erection of new ground football , athletics on same site. third, fourth, , fifth ideas proposed building of 2 stadiums, 1 football , 1 athletics, on various local plots. municipality chose first option on 3 december 2005: new football ground built south of malmö stadion, capacity of 20,000 25,000, on 399 million kronor budget. malmö stadion, meanwhile, renovated athletics stadium 50 million kronor. swedbank stadion completed in 2009. of 2012, no renovation has been done on malmö stadion.

malmö ff left malmö stadion @ end of 2008 allsvenskan season. last allsvenskan match played @ stadium team s final game of season, against gif sundsvall on 9 november 2008. match won 6–0 malmö ff, wore special kit designed honour legacy of stadium. malmö ff still uses stadium training purposes , youth matches. ifk malmö returned malmö stadion 2009 season. move done in protest against malmö stad s decision lay out artificial turf @ malmö ip. since returning malmö stadion, ifk malmö s average attendance has been around 100–200 spectators per match. team plays in division 4, sixth tier of swedish football.

in june 2011, malmö stad decided new public swimming arena built in same area stadium in near future. leaves stadium s future clouded in uncertainty. recent occurrences have indicated malmö stadion might continue used athletics arena, mai intends revive mai gala. in november 2012, mai lobbied attract 100 metres olympic champion usain bolt stadium proposed mai gala in august 2014. mai working towards hosting european athletics junior championships in 2015, , have written european athletic association express interest. on 31 january 2015 new reports suggested city council had reached agreement malmö stadion demolished. decision approve demolition of stadium taken on 2 february 2015. of february 2015 still unknown when demolition process start , become of area.