Romssa Arena, previously known as Alfheim Stadion, is a football stadium located in Tromsø, Norway and home of Eliteserien side Tromsø IL. Romssa Arena has a seating capacity of 6,801 and artificial turf. It is the second northernmost stadium to have been used in European football, after the Finnmarkshallen, which is located 170 km (106 miles) to the northeast in Alta, Norway, and is home to Alta IF.
History
The Alfheim area, previously used as a recreational area, was bought by the municipality in 1954. Construction of the first sports venue began in 1960 at the same time as a new handball and ice hockey field at Nedre Elvebakken. A swimming pool was also built at Alfheim. From the mid-1960s Tromsø had three main football venues: Alfheim, Valhall Stadion and Tromsdalen Stadion. TIL's path to the top league started in the 1970s with the hiring of Peter Drecker as manager. In the early 1980s the team established itself in the Second Division and the need for an upgraded stadium arose. From 1981 to 1986 the club's revenue increased from 1.2 to 4.2 million Norwegian krone (NOK) and the club became professional from 1985. The first major upgrade to a sports complex had been Tromsdalen Stadion in 1983, which was largely financed by the municipality but owned and operated Tromsdalen UIL.
A similar cooperation between the municipality and the club was established in regard to upgrading Alfheim and the stadium was spun off as a separate limited company with TIL as the majority and the municipality as a minority shareholder. The company leased Alfheim for fifteen years and spent NOK 10 million on the Alfheim upgrades. Part of the financing was secured from private donors. Ahead of the 1986 season, the first in the First Division, Tromsø played its matches at Valhall while Alfheim was being upgraded.
TIL played an exhibition match against Germany's 1. FC Nürnberg on 22 July 1987, but chose to play it at Valhall instead of Alfheim to spare the pitch. The opening match took place against England's Queens Park Rangers on 27 July 1987, with TIL losing 0–1 in front of 2,700 spectators. On 26 August Norway's Olympic football team played 0–0 against Switzerland in front of 4,000 spectators. Tromsø played St Mirren on 30 September 1987 in the 1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup, which became the northernmost location of a European football match. The teams tied 0–0 and Tromsø did not advance. The municipality had to save the stadium company from bankruptcy through a private placement in 1992, thus becoming a majority shareholder. In a 2012 survey carried out by the Norwegian Players' Association among away-team captains, Alfheim was ranked seventh amongst league stadiums, with a score of 3.60 on a scale from one to five.
In 2023 the stadium naming rights were bought for five years by local power company Troms Kraft, who changed the name from Alfheim Stadion to Romssa Arena. Romssa is the genitive form of Romsa, which is the Northern Sámi name for Tromsø. The name was chosen to promote Sámi visibility.
The pitch
Romssa Arena has a playing surface made of artificial turf with under-soil heating. It had natural grass until 2006. However, the condition of the pitch, especially during the winter months, received considerable criticism from sports pundits and visiting managers. Usually in October, when the Norwegian top division is in its last rounds, winter sets in Tromsø. This, along with the wear and tear from football matches and practicing sessions, caused the grass to disappear and reduced the pitch to a muddy field. To make up for this, Tromsø IL installed artificial turf at the stadium during the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Funding for the turf came from contributions to the club from several businesses in Tromsø, including 7.5 million NOK from an anonymous donor. The artificial turf laid in 2006 was replaced with a new one in June 2010 after taking much criticism.