page_title: Malmö Stadion
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Malmö Stadion / History
caption_attribution_description: Malmö FF-Hammarby IF (2-4), Fotollsallsvenskan
context_page_description: Malmö Stadion, often known simply as Stadion before the construction of the new Stadion between 2007 and 2009, is a multi-purpose stadium in Malmö, Sweden. As of 2015, it is the home of association football club IFK Malmö, presently of Division 2, and athletics club MAI. The stadium served as the home ground for Malmö FF, an association football team in Sweden's top flight, Allsvenskan, from its opening in 1958 until 2009, when the club moved to the newly constructed Stadion, built beside Malmö Stadion, in 2009. Malmö FF still use the stadium for training purposes and youth matches. Besides being used for sports, the stadium has also hosted various concerts and other events. The ground's record attendance, 30,953, was set in the very first match played at the ground, a 1958 FIFA World Cup match between Argentina and West Germany.
  Malmö Stadion was originally built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, during which it was the venue for four matches. It replaced Malmö IP as Malmö's main sports stadium, where IFK Malmö, MAI and Malmö FF had been based since the early 20th century. It also hosted three matches during the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship.
context_section_description: Plans to build a new stadium in Malmö originated in 1943, when local officials deemed Malmö IP to be too small for major events. However, the city council could not agree where to build the new stadium, and the matter was dropped for the time being. It was not until Sweden was chosen to host the 1958 FIFA World Cup that the question resurfaced. The location of the stadium was a main subject of discussion: some suggested a suburban location in Jägersro, while others thought that the stadium should be located in central Malmö, near the neighbourhood of Pildammsparken. Proponents of a central location ultimately won the day; the site was confirmed in 1954.
  The plans were agreed upon in 1956, and building started on 5 June that year, when the chairman of the city's sports committee turned the first sod. The ground officially opened about two years later, on 28 May 1958. At the time of the stadium's inauguration, it held 31,000 spectators. It was designed by architects Sten Samuelsson and Fritz Jaenecke, who also designed another of the World Cup stadiums, Ullevi in the city of Gothenburg; as a result, the two grounds share many architectural features. During the World Cup, the stadium hosted four matches: West Germany vs Argentina in Group 1, which was the inaugural match of the stadium; West Germany vs Northern Ireland, also in Group 1; Northern Ireland vs Czechoslovakia, in the Group 1 play-off; and, finally, West Germany vs Yugoslavia in the quarter-final round.
  During the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship (commonly called Euro 1992), Malmö Stadion hosted three matches in Group 1, which comprised the national teams of Sweden, Denmark, England and France. None of the matches played in Malmö involved Sweden, however, as the host nation played all of their matches at Råsunda, a stadium in the capital city Stockholm.
  Malmö Allmänna Idrottsförening (MAI), the largest athletics club in Malmö, have used the stadium for training purposes and outdoor competition since the stadium's inauguration in 1958. MAI organises its own international athletic competition, the MAI Gala, which has been held since the 1930s. It was originally hosted at Malmö IP, but moved to Malmö Stadion after its construction. Some notable athletes who have competed in the gala are Marion Jones, Maurice Greene, Sergej Bubka and Kajsa Bergqvist.
  Malmö Stadion served as the home ground of association football club Malmö FF between 1958 and 2008. The team moved to the stadium on its opening in 1958, leaving its original home ground at Malmö IP to do so. The first Malmö FF match at the new ground was played on 8 August 1958; in an Allsvenskan fixture, Malmö FF took on their cross-town rivals, IFK Malmö, who had also moved to the stadium from Malmö IP. Played in front of 17,368 fans, the game ended with a 4–4 draw. IFK were relegated from Allsvenskan in 1962, and have not returned to the first tier since, but the club continues to play at Malmö Stadion nonetheless. Malmö FF experienced an average attendance of around 13,000 for the first ten years at the stadium; average crowds then dropped to below 10,000 by the end of the 1970s. By the 1990s, attendances were at an all-time low, with less than 5,000 people on average coming to Malmö FF matches. The club therefore let Malmö Stadion for the newly renovated Malmö IP in 1999, IFK Malmö followed in August the same year. By this time IFK Malmö were playing in Division 2, then the third tier in the Swedish league system. During their seasons in Allsvenskan, IFK Malmö had attracted an average attendance of around 10,000 spectators between 1957–58 and 1962. IFK Malmö's attendance at Malmö Stadion reached its peak during the 1960 season when the club finished as runners-up in Allsvenskan and attracted 12,787 spectators on average to the stadium. The attendance had decreased to around 1,000 spectators per match in 1999 when the club had dropped in the league.
  Malmö FF's move to Malmö IP occurred during the second half of the 1999 Allsvenskan. It soon became apparent to the club that Malmö IP was too small, and lacked
caption: Malmö FF supporters in an Allsvenskan match against Hammarby IF in 2008
exif: {"Image Make": "PENTAX Corporation", "Image Model": "PENTAX Optio 555", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging", "Image DateTime": "2008:07:16 15:25:59", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "234", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "2110", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7431", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "21/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "64", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:07:14 20:06:04", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:07:14 20:06:04", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "5", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "139/5", "EXIF SubSecTime": "46", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1944", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1978", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "134", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "3"}