page_title: Ullevaal Stadion
section_title: Vålerenga enters
hierarchical_section_title: Ullevaal Stadion / History / Vålerenga enters
caption_attribution_description: Green Day concert at Ullevaal stadion in Oslo, Norway
context_page_description: Ullevaal Stadion is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of FK Lyn and from 1999 to 2017 was a home ground of Vålerenga IF. With a capacity of approximately 28,000, it is the largest football stadium in Norway. The national stadium is fully owned by the Football Association of Norway.
  The stadium opened on 26 September 1926 as the home ground for Lyn and several other local teams. The first international match was played in 1927, and NFF started gradually purchasing part of the stadium company. The peak attendance dates from 1935, when 35,495 people saw Norway play Sweden. Since 1948, Ullevaal has hosted the finals of the Norwegian Football Cup, and in 1967 the Japp Stand was completed. A new renovation started with the completion of the single-tier West Stand in 1985, and continued with the two-tier North and East Stands in 1990 and the South Stand in 1998. Ullevaal hosted the finals of the UEFA Women's Euro in 1987 and 1997.
context_section_description: In late 1998, Vålerenga considered moving their matches to Ullevaal from 1999. Although they stated that they had a better economic proposal from Ullevaal, the team stayed at Bislett to have more influence on the design of the new stadium that would replace the existing structure. Oslo's other Premier League team, Skeid Fotball, stated that they had also considered playing at Ullevaal, but wanted to keep the more "intimate feeling" at Voldsløkka Stadion. However, Vålerenga were forced to move some of their 1999 matches to Ullevaal because the dilapidated standards at Bislett. Prior to the 2000 season, Vålerenga signed a three-year contract with Ullevaal, making the national stadium their home.
  In 2000, Ullevaal Stadion AS bought the West Stand, including the commercial areas. In March 2001, NFF gave Lyn a loan for NOK 12.5 million, on the condition that if it was not paid back within two years, NFF would take over Lyn's ownership in the stadium. This made it possible for Lyn to pay their investment company back the debt for the loan, which had increased to this amount in five years, and to purchase the stadium and secure NFF the right of pre-emption. On 4 July 2002, Lyn and NFF announced that NFF would make a private placement of NOK 27 million in Ullevaal Stadion AS and at the same time terminate Lyn's debt. In exchange, Lyn's ownership was reduced to 15%.
  In 1998, Vital Forsikring bought the real estate located between the east of the stadium, Ring 3 and the Sognsvann Line. The lot covered 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft), including the commercial properties under the stands. A new zoning plan  was rejected by the municipality in 2000, but in 2005 the plans were passed. In 2008, Vital started constructing a hotel and more commercial spaces at the site. The hotel had 144 rooms and would be operated by Thon Hotel; other investments included a congress hall for 800 people and a reconstruction of the sports facility Bergbanen. Total area was 24,000 square meters (260,000 sq ft), including 1,500 square meters (16,000 sq ft) for the congress center, 5,000 square meters (54,000 sq ft) for the four-story hotel, and a 6,300-square-meter (68,000 sq ft) expansion of the shopping center by. The shopping center area thus became 53,000 square meters (570,000 sq ft). The investments cost NOK 550 million and were scheduled for completion in 2009. The project also included the bandy field Bergbanen and a new club building for Ullevål IL. Ownership of the bandy venue was transferred to the municipality.
  On 23 October 2005, Vålerenga set its attendance record of 24,894 in a league match against Rosenborg BK.
   On 23 March 2007, NFF bought Lyn's remaining 13.07% share of Ullevaal, securing the federation full control of the national stadium. Lyn was paid NOK 32.5 million for the transaction. Following Lyn's relegation from the Norwegian Premier League after the 2009 season, the club decided to move its home games from Ullevaal to Bislett. This was to avoid the high costs that the club had renting Ullevaal, which cost the club NOK 150,000 per game, compared to a similar fee per season at Bislett. Lyn played its last home game at Ullevaal on 3 November, when it lost 0–5 against Fredrikstad FK. In the 2009 season of the Premier League, Vålerenga had the fourth-highest average attendance at 10,788, while Lyn had the lowest at 4,187. Lyn's least-seen game attracted 2,092 people. After it was decided that the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was to be held at Stabæk's home venue Telenor Arena, Stabæk was forced to rent Ullevaal to play three of its home games during April and May 2010. In a 2012 survey carried out by the Norwegian Players' Association among away-team captains, Ullevaal was found to be the league's best stadium, with a score of 4,47 on a scale from one to five.
caption: Concert with Green Day in 2010
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