Malmö Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Malmö, Sweden, and the venue for home games of SHL ice hockey club Malmö Redhawks. It is the largest arena in the SHL, and the second-largest indoor arena in Sweden. Apart from hosting Redhawks hockey matches, the arena is often the venue for team handball, floorball, concerts, and other events. It has also hosted indoor athletics. Owned and operated by Parkfast AB, the arena was designed by Mats Matson of MM Matsson Konsult AB, Hannu Helkiö of Pöyry Architects, and Gert Wingårdh of Wingårdh arkitektkontor. Naming rights for the venue are owned by Malmö Stad, in a ten-year contract, agreed in 2007. The venue hosted the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships from 26 December 2013 to 5 January 2014. It hosted the Eurovision Song Contest between 14 and 18 May 2013, and will host the same event again between 7 and 11 May 2024.
With a capacity of 12,600 for sports and 15,500 for concerts, Malmö Arena is the second-largest indoor arena in Sweden, only trailing the Ericsson Globe, located in Stockholm, and is currently the biggest venue in the Swedish Hockey League. The attendance record for concerts at Malmö Arena is 11,300, set by a Lady Gaga concert on 19 November 2010. The venue attendance record for ice hockey was set on 12 November 2008, when Malmö Redhawks hosted Leksands IF in front of 13,247 people. Ground was broken on 10 January 2007, and the arena was inaugurated on 6 November 2008. The final construction cost for the arena was 750 million SEK. The arena is located about from Hyllie railway station, from where there are rail and bus connections to Malmö Central Station, Copenhagen Airport, and Copenhagen Central Station.
History
In spite of being the third most populous city in Sweden, Malmö often missed the possibility to host larger concert and music events because it lacked a suitable indoor arena. When the City Tunnel project was initiated by Malmö Stad in the late 1990s, the city began to plan a new district in Hyllievång. This led to the decision to build Hyllie station in 2001, as a part of the tunnel project, to boost the development of the new district. The ice hockey club Malmö Redhawks, which was the proposed main tenant of the new arena, was initially uncertain of the new project and wanted to renovate its present home, the Malmö Isstadion, instead of moving to an entirely new arena. However, the Redhawks were convinced when Percy Nilsson of Parkfast AB contributed seven million kronor to help the club's financial situation.
The decision to build an arena in the area was first presented by Nilsson in May 1997, and developed further over the following decade. The permit to start building Malmö Arena was granted in September 2006, and the first sod was turned on 10 January 2007 by Nilsson, hockey players Pekka Lindmark, Juha Riihijärvi, and Carl Söderberg, and two politicians from Malmö Stad. The main contractors for the building of the arena were Parkfast AB, with the collaboration of the structural engineer Byggteknik i Skåne. The arena was designed by Mats Matson of MM Matsson Konsult AB, Hannu Helkiö of Pöyry Architects, and Gert Wingårdh of Wingårdh arkitektkontor. The final construction cost for the arena was 750 million kronor – 100 million kronor over budget because of additions to the initial plan. The arena was entirely financed by Percy Nilsson of Parkfast AB. Malmö Arena was inaugurated on 6 November 2008 with a large concert featuring a variety of artists, among them Robyn, Helen Sjöholm, Sanne Salomonsen, and Jill Johnson.
The name of the arena was discussed during 2007, with Malmö Arena or Hyllie Arena discussed as potential options. The naming rights were eventually sold to Malmö Stad for 10 years in a deal worth 50 million kronor. Nilsson wished for the arena to have "Malmö" in its name because the city's new association football stadium, Swedbank Stadion, did not.
Sports
Malmö Arena has hosted Malmö Redhawks ice hockey home games since 2008, replacing their former home, Malmö Isstadion. The team plays in the SHL, the first tier of Swedish ice hockey. The Redhawks play 26 games per season at the arena (excluding playoffs) making them the arena's most regular tenant. Malmö Arena was the main venue for the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.