GIF SundsvallGround: Norrporten Arena Visits: 1 Date: 6th July 2008 Match: GIF Sundsvall - Malmö FF 0-0 (Allsvenskan) Attendance: 5 269
Sundvalls Idrottspark, as the ground was originally called, was opened 8th August 1903 and hosted tennis as well as football. Due to Sundsvall being situated in northern Sweden the grass pitch was often in a terrible state and when the ground was completely rebuilt in 2002 the local council, who paid for the reconstruction, decided to replace the grass with an artificial pitch and increase the capacity to 8,000 (all-seated). In 2006 the ground was renamed Norrporten Arena.
Sundsvall is 950 km from where I live and I decided to make the long journey in two days, staying the night in Stockholm before heading towards Sundsvall the following morning. I arrived in Sundsvall by noon and since my room wasn´t ready I did some sightseeing in the city, including climbing Norra Stadsberget (Northern City mountain.) When I reached the top I needed oxygen treatment for 10 minutes before climbing the viewing tower from which you had a fantastic view of the city (and the ground, see pictures below).
The match itself ended 0-0 but was actually quite entertaining with plenty of chances for both teams, Malmö missed a penalty and Sundsvall hit the underside of the bar etc. I have to say I like Norrporten Arena, a unique ground with some strange looking stands and in my opinion Sundvall have a ground which is better than most other Allsvenskan grounds. A ground to visit for groundhoppers!
Sundsvall
Norrporten Arena
Rear of the Main Stand
East Stand
South Stand
West Stand
North Stand
East Stand
Patroner
View of play
Kick-off
Malmö fans (more than 1,000 km trip for them)
West Stand
North Stand
Pano |