Studenternas is Sports Arena of the Year

The new Studenternas, which opened in 2021, has quickly become a popular meeting place for Uppsala residents. Now the FOJAB-designed football stadium has been awarded the Sports Arena of the Year 2023 prize.

The arena is part of the development of Södra Åstråket along Fyrisån in central Uppsala. FOJAB has assisted the municipal company Sportfastigheter in the work of creating a more popular and safer arena area while giving the arena access to more services - an active and attractive meeting place that never closes.

In addition to the football stadium, FOJAB has designed new parts of the bandy stadium and two new squares. There is also a café and restaurant, gym, shops, health care, conference activities and office space. The greenery and parkway have been reinforced and the spaces between the buildings have been designed for various activities.

Studenternas has room for up to 10,500 spectators at all-Swedish matches. The arena space with its glulam stands is dense and enveloping, so that the audience feels close to the pitch and gets a strong football experience.

FOJAB has extensive experience in designing sports halls for school and leisure sports as well as large-scale sports arenas with high complexity of audience flows, food logistics, security and technology. An example of the latter is Malmö FF's home arena Eleda stadium.

- Halls, arenas and outdoor environments for physical activity are important hubs in the city with great potential to contribute to city life both in everyday life and at events. "We are so pleased with the award and that the people of Uppsala appreciate their home arena. Then we have succeeded," says Daniel Nord, CEO of FOJAB.

The Sports Arena of the Year prize is awarded by Sport & Affärer. The jury's motivation for the 2023 award winner reads:

"The interest in Sirius football is greater than ever, which is largely attributed to the new arena, Nya Studenternas. The arena, which was completed during the 2020 pandemic and inaugurated the following year, has quickly become an important meeting place for Uppsala residents. The average attendance was once again beaten last season, reaching over 6,000 spectators per match with increasing ticket revenues for the club. The fact that the stands are built in glulam instead of concrete is sustainable both economically and environmentally, while creating a welcoming atmosphere for the audience."