Stadion (Malmö)

Stadion is a football stadium in Malmö, Sweden and the home of Allsvenskan club Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF. In UEFA competitions, the stadium has also been known as Malmö New Stadium and formerly known as Swedbank Stadion for sponsorship reasons. The stadium was named after Swedish based banking group Swedbank, which owned its naming rights between 2008 and 2017. Apart from being the home of Malmö FF, Stadion has also hosted senior and youth international matches.

General information

Arena capacity: 22,500 spectators

Address: Eric Perssons väg 31, 217 62 Malmö

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 55°35′01″N 12°59′16″E

Year of construction: 2007-2009

Construction cost: 695 million kronor (€79,7M)

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 105 by 70 metres (344 ft × 230 ft)

Seating plan of Stadion

Stadion has a capacity of 22,500 spectators. It comprises four stands: the Western Stand; the Eastern Stand and the Southern Stand, both of which have two tiers; and the Northern Stand, which is terraced. The lower-right part of the Southern Stand also features terracing for away supporters, but the rest of the stand is seated. The lower tier has 10,000 seats, and the upper tier has 8,000 seats. The Northern Stand has a capacity of 4,500 standing supporters, which can be transformed into an all-seated section with a capacity of 3,000 if required. This is done for matches played by Malmö FF in Europe.

The Northern Stand holds the most season ticket-holders. It is a single-tier terracing section, with railing in various places across the stand for security and comfort. It can hold up to 100 wheelchair users and their companions in a dedicated section. The stand also houses conference facilities with views of the pitch, as well as the 2,000-capacity “Restaurang 1910” in the inside area, behind the terraced area of the stand, and a health club run by Friskis & Svettis. Malmö FF’s official souvenir shop is on the outside of the stand, alongside a sports bar, which holds up to 250 guests.

The Eastern and Western Stands house 54 VIP boxes between them, which is more than any other football stadium in Sweden. The Eastern and Western Stands also have 2,000 club seats along their upper tiers. These seats are more comfortable than the regular seats, and come with half-time meals and snacks in “Restaurang 1910”. The Western Stand includes seating for the press, as well as a large press room inside the stand. The president’s box, which holds up to 60 people, is also in the Western Stand.

The lower tier of the Southern Stand is reserved for away supporters, with most of the stand being seated. The western part of the stand, however, is converted into terracing for domestic league games. The area reserved for away supporters varies from game to game depending on how many away fans are expected: the allocation’s size is altered by restricting access to and from the area with large safety nets, which are laid across the seating and supervised by stewards.

The away section is small for most Allsvenskan matches, with the most notable exceptions being matches against Helsingborgs IF, AIK, Djurgårdens IF, and IFK Göteborg. These matches tend to draw larger away attendances, and the away area is therefore accordingly expanded across the entire lower tier of the Southern Stand.

Where to buy tickets?

Tickets for Malmö FF games can be purchased online via Ticnet, by phone via the Ticnet call center, or at the MFF shop at the stadium.

Tickets can also be bought at the ticket windows at the stadium on the day of the match. Malmö only sell out the occasional high-profile match.

Malmö FF have divided their home matches into three pricing categories. Tickets for the cheapest matches range in price from SEK 225.00 for a seat behind the goal to SEK 395.00 for a central seat at the main stand. These prices increase to between SEK 310.00 and SEK 595.00 for the most expensive matches. Standing costs either SEK 90.00, SEK 125.00, or SEK 150.00 depending on the category.

How to get there?

Swedbank Stadion sits 3.1 km south of Malmö city centre with the resulting journey likely to take the average football fan around 40 minutes by foot or 15 minutes by bike although many choose to take the bus.

Triangeln is the closest railway station to Stadion is served by Malmö bus lines 3, 5, 6, and 34, all of which stop in the vicinity of the stadium. Local transit authority Skånetrafiken also operates dedicated match-day buses, branded as line 84, which run to the stadium from different areas of Malmö.

Due to the central location of the stadium within the city, parking space is limited, and spectators are advised to use public transportation, particularly for more prominent matches. The stadium is also located close to the underground railway station Triangeln, which opened in December 2010 as a part of Citytunneln. The station is served by Pågatåg and Öresund Trains, and is reachable non-stop from many parts of the Öresund Region.

The closest parking location to Stadion is “P-huset Stadion”, a parking garage with 440 parking spaces, which was purpose-built for the ground and opened in September 2009. It is located 100 metres (330 ft) from the stadium, just beside the club’s training ground. There are also various other local parking spaces, and a large number of bicycle stands surrounding the western edge of the stadium.

Where to eat?

Swedbank Stadion lies in a mainly residential area. It is bordered by a large park and surrounded by other sports facilities, among which Malmö’s old stadium that is still in use for athletics events.

While nearby Pildammsparken is pleasant on a summer’s afternoon, there is otherwise little around the stadium, and eating and drinking is best done in Malmö’s city centre.

If you wish to stay close to the Swedbank Stadium, Hotel Mercure Malmö will be your hotel of choice. It gets good reviews and is located only a few minutes walking away from the stadium. The cheaper Bosses Gästvåningar hostel is an alternative still at walking distance, while there are plenty of alternatives in Malmö’s city centre.

History

Malmö began to seek a move away from their former stadium back in the mid 1990s as their former ground proved to be large for the average crowd size and combined with the maintenance costs of the ageing structure, it was slowly becoming economically unenviable. The board initially believed that relocating to the club’s even older stadium, the 1910 built Malmö IP, was the answer, but this proved to be a short term solution with the club returning to Malmö Stadion in 2001.

After winning the Allsvenskan title in 2004, the first time in over 25 years, the club began to once again flirt with the idea of building a brand new stadium and in conjunction with Malmö Municipality they drafted five different locations. Option 3 was eventually chosen which would see the current Malmö Stadion renovated into an athletics stadium, and a purpose built football ground built to the south.

The 24,000 capacity stadium which includes 18,000 seats and 6,000 terrace places is the third largest to be used in the Allsvenskan behind AIK’s Friends Arena and Tele2 Arena shared by Djurgårdens IF’s and Hammarby IF. Costing around €79.7 million euros the project’s initial budget of 398 million kronor almost doubled, with the club opting to sell the naming rights to Swedish Bank Swedbank for a ten year period to help cover the miscalculated costs.

The inaugural match was held against division 1 side Örgryte IS on the 13th April 2009 with Malmö FF ushering in the new era with a 3-0 nil victory.

Allowing Malmö FF to compete in the Champions League, the capacity of Swedbank Stadion is reduced to 21,000 as the 6,000 terrace places are converted into seats as per UEFA regulations.