Vida Arena
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| Location | Växjö, Sweden |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 56°52′47″N 14°46′25″E / 56.87972°N 14.77361°E |
| Owner | Vida Group |
| Capacity | Ice hockey: 5,329 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | September 2010 |
| Opened | September 2011 |
| Tenants | |
| Växjö Lakers (SEL) (2011–present) | |
Vida Arena (branded as VIDA Arena) is an indoor sporting arena located in Växjö, Sweden. The construction of the arena began in September 2010 and was finished in summer 2011. The arena opened in September 2011 and is best known for being the Växjö Lakers' new home arena.[1] Although mainly intended to be used for ice hockey, the Vida Arena is also used for other events such as concerts and news conferences.[2]
As of the 2012–13 season, Vida Arena is the Elitserien's newest arena and has a spectator capacity of 5,329, making it the Elitserien's capacity-wise next-to-smallest arena, only surpassing Rögle's Lindab Arena.[3] However, the design allows for future extensions that could increase the capacity to 6,500 spectators.[4] The spectator capacity is planned for extension to at least 6,000; however, it's unknown when this will be done.[5]
Vida Arena is part of the sports complex "Arenastaden" (Arena town), which also includes a new soccer stadium, a floorball arena, and an arena for athletics.[6] Vida Arena is connected with Växjö Ishall, an old arena inaugurated in 1970 that, since a renovation which took place in 2006, has a comparable capacity of 4,000 spectators.[7] The Vida Group acquired the naming rights for the arena in September 2010, for the upcoming 14 years.[1]
The arena was officially inaugurated on 17 September 2011, in an ice hockey game between Växjö Lakers and Linköpings HC. The arena tickets for the game were outsold within just one hour, with the Lakers' marketing manager speculating that they could've sold out two arenas.[8] Växjö Lakers former crowd favorite Shjon Podein watched the game live in the arena. Linköping won the game 4–2 in front of 5,502 spectators, which is so far the crowd record in the new arena.[9][10] However, the Lakers' premier game on 13 September, on away ice against Frölunda HC, was shown on the Vida Arena's JumboTron in front of 2,400 spectators, with free entrance, as a preview of the Vida Arena experience and a test of the arena's technical features. Frölunda won the game 2–0.[11][12][13]
Vida Arena is the first cashless arena in Sweden.[14] Vida Arena hosted the first semifinal of Melodifestivalen 2012 on 4 February 2012. This was the third time that Växjö hosted a Melodifestivalen stage, after 2002 and 2005.[15]
Gallery
- Images of Vida Arena
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The front part of Vida Arena's exterior.
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Vida Arena's west part of the front exterior. -
The construction of Vida Arena started in September 2010.
Panorama image
References
- ^ a b "VIDA Arena - namnet på Växjö Lakers nya hockeyarena" (in Swedish). Vida Group. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ Daniel Rydström (2010-09-25). "Vida arena - i 14 år" (in Swedish). Smålandsposten. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Fakta om VIDA Arena" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
- ^ Mats Wennerholm (2011-04-04). "'Inte ens Astrid Lindgren kunde'" (in Swedish). Sportbladet. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Daniel Enestubbe (2011-05-27). "Snart plats för 6 000 åskådare" (in Swedish). Smålandsposten. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Arenastaden in Växjö" (in Swedish). Växjö. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- ^ "Växjö Ishall" (in Swedish). vaxjo.se. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Hampus Hagman (2011-09-06). "Hade kunnat sälja ut två arenor" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Jonas Gustavsson (2011-09-17). "Förlust i hemmapremiären" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
- ^ Jonas Gustavsson (2011-09-16). "Invigningsöverraskningen: Podein på plats i VIDA Arena" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
- ^ "Frölunda-Växjö Lakers live i VIDA Arena" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^ Daniel Enestubbe (2011-09-09). "Frölunda–Växjö live i Vida Arena" (in Swedish). Smålandsposten. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Jonas Gustavsson (2011-09-13). "2 400 besökte VIDA Arena" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
- ^ "Sveriges första kontantfria arena" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers Hockey. 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ "Städerna som får besök av Melodifestivalen 2012" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 2011-09-01. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)