Råsunda Stadium

Råsunda Stadium (Swedish: [ˈroːsɵnda]; also known as Råsunda Fotbollsstadion, Råsundastadion or just Råsunda) was the Swedish national football stadium. It was located in Solna Municipality in Stockholm and named after the district in Solna where it is located. In November 2012 it was closed down and replaced by the newly built Friends Arena about 1 km from Råsunda Stadium. Flats and offices will be built on the old ground.

History

It was opened in 1937 although there had already existed stadiums at the site; the earliest opened in 1910. The inaugural match took place on 18 April 1937 when AIK played against Malmö FF, AIK won the match 4–0. Råsunda has a capacity of 35,000–36,608 depending on usage. The 1910 stadium hosted some of the football and some of the shooting events at the 1912 Summer Olympics. The stadium was the home stadium for AIK, and was used for many derbies between Stockholm clubs. It also hosted the headquarters of the Swedish Football Association, and staged 75% of the home matches of the national football team each year, with most other matches being played at Ullevi in Gothenburg. These two stadiums are UEFA 4-star rated football stadiums.