<\/a><\/p>\n

Key facts<\/h3>\n

Club: AIK | Opening: 2012 | Capacity: 50,000 seats<\/p>\n

History and description<\/h3>\n

The Friends Arena is Sweden\u2019s recently opened new national stadium. It replaced the old R\u00e5sunda Fotbollstadion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Plans initially aimed to rebuilt R\u00e5sunda into a modern stadium, but this soon turned out not to be viable and instead was chosen to build a new stadium altogether.<\/p>\n

The proposed new stadium went first by the sponsor name of Swedbank Arena, but in 2012 sponsor Swedbank decided to rename the stadium to Friends Arena after a charity.<\/p>\n

Construction of the stadium began in May 2009, and the Friends Arena officially opened on 27 October 2012 with a concert night of Swedish artists.<\/p>\n

The first football match at the stadium was played on 14 November 2012 when the Swedish national team took on England.<\/p>\n

The Friends Arena has become the home of local side AIK from the start of the 2013 season. In a referendum, the club\u2019s fans chose the arena over the Tele2 Arena<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The stadium has been selected to host the 2017 Europa League final<\/a>, though missed out on the Euro 2020<\/a> Championships.<\/p>\n

The Friends Arena is a multifunctional arena that can be easily adapted in size and hosts multiple concerts and other large events every year. It furthermore has a retractable roof that can be opened and closed in 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

How to get to the Friends Arena<\/h3>\n

The Friends Arena is located in Solna, a suburb of Stockholm situated about 5 kilometres north of its city centre and central railway station. The stadium lies in a predominantly residential neighbourhood, just north of the old R\u00e5sunda Fotbollstadion.<\/p>\n

If arriving by car from the E4\/E20, take exit 167 toward Solna\/Sundbyberg and follow the Fr\u00f6sundaleden toward Solna Centrum. Turn right directly after the railway station. While construction works on the adjacent shopping centre and hotels continue, there is limited parking available near the Friends Arena.<\/p>\n

If using public transport, the stadium is best reached by train as Solna station is located almost next to the arena. Trains run regularly from Stockholm\u2019s central station (T-Centralen). The journey only takes 7 minutes.<\/p>\n

Metro<\/a> stations Solna Centrum and N\u00e4ckrosen also lie at reasonable walking distance from the stadium. Take line T11 from Stockholm\u2019s central station.<\/p>\n

Address: Friends Arena, Solna<\/p>\n