Tingvalla IP

Ground: Tingvalla Idrottsplats

Visits: 1

Date: 2nd June 2012

Match: Karlstad BK - Skövde AIK 1-1 (Division 1 Södra)

Attendance: 280

In 2020 Karlstad BK merged with Carlstad United to form IF Karlstad Fotboll

In 2022 Karlstad Fotboll moved to Sola Arena and Tingvalla IP will be demolished.

Last year I managed to visit all grounds in Division 1 Södra (South) but despite having been to all grounds of the promoted clubs I still had one ground to visit to re-complete this division. Karlstad BK played in Division 1 Norra (North) last year but were transferred to Division 1 Södra for the 2012 season. I actually planned to visit Karlstad at the end of April but the weather forecast suggested a risk of snow(!) back then so I postponed my trip and tried to find another match. Since Karlstad is around 6,5 hours by car from where I live I wanted to visit a match played on a Saturday and to combine the journey with at least one more match. The first weekend of June met my requirements and since I stayed in Gothenburg the prevoius night I only had 3 hours of driving to do this day. Karlstad is situated at the northern tip of Sweden´s biggest lake (Vänern) and the journey went through some nice surroundings. Tingvalla IP is probably best known for being an athletics ground and the home of the athletics club IF Göta. Karlstad BK have another home ground but for matches in Division 1 (and above) they use Tingvalla IP. The ground has an all-seated South stand with around 1 100 covered seats. On the far side of the ground there is an open terrace and behind the east curve there are some terraced stands as well. In total the capacity is around 10 000 but for most football matches the spectators are in the South stand, for the match against Skövde there were three fans on the far side!

I arrived at Tingvalla 1h 45 minutes before kick-off and after sneaking in to take some pictures I then headed towards the city centre to have something to eat and drink. I ended up having a delicious kebab before returning to the ground and with 20 minutes to go I was sitting in the main stand. I knew the attendance would be quite low but 280 is still a rather poor crowd for level 3 football. In the first half there was absolutely nothing to be excited about and the second half was not much better. Karlstad had the majority of the ball possession but didn´t create many chances. In the 76th minute Sköve went forward and manged to score, 1-0 to the visitors. The remaining minutes of the match were then quite entertaining as Karlstad pushed for an equaliser and with a minute to go they deservedly scored. In stoppage time they then hit the bar but the match finished 1-1. A crap first 75 minutes and an entertaining last 15 minutes. The match might not have been the best but Tingvalla IP was a ground worth visiting and once again I have completed the grounds in Division 1 Södra!

klarälven