Color Line Stadion

Color Line Stadion is an association football stadium in Ålesund, Norway, and the home of 1. divisjon side Aalesunds FK. It was inaugurated in April 2005 and cost NOK 160 million to build. It is referred to as Aalesund Stadion by UEFA,[1] as naming rights arrangements (in this case, with ferry operator Color Line) is not included during UEFA competitions.

For the hall stadium in Germany, see O2 World Hamburg.
Color Line Stadion
LocationÅlesund, Norway
OwnerAalesunds FK
OperatorAalesunds FK
Capacity10,778 (Football)
SurfaceArtificial turf
Construction
Opened16 April 2005
Construction costNOK 160 million
Tenants
Aalesunds FK (2005–)
FK Fortuna Ålesund (2009–)

It was the first top-level stadium in Norway to feature artificial turf, which was at the time a highly debated issue. When Aalesund opened the stadium, businessman Olav Nils Sunde donated a statue to the club, which was erected in front of the stadium. Whilst Sunde denied it, the statue bore a very strong resemblance to former Aalesund player John Arne Riise. In 2007, when Riise played in the Champions League Final, a Norwegian commentator demanded the statue officially carry his name. Riise himself has said, "[The name change] is not for me to decide. Everyone sees who it is, and I know that it was made for me."[2] It was officially named "John Arne Riise" in April 2018.[3]

Since 2009 it has also hosted the home games of the women's Toppserien side Fortuna Ålesund. The venue has hosted one Norway national under-21 football team match, playing 1–3 against Cyprus on 3 September 2010.[4] In a 2012 survey carried out by the Norwegian Players' Association among away-team captains, Color Line Stadion was ranked eleventh amongst league stadiums, with a score of 2.87 on a scale from one to five.[5]

Facts
Stormen Supporters
South East Stand
  • Capacity: 10,778 (9,598 seated).
  • Record attendance: 10,903 (vs Hamarkameratene, 2005).
  • The first match Aafk played on Color Line Stadium was against Odd Grenland. Aalesund won the match.
  • Outside the stadium is a statue of John Arne Riise, modeled after the former Aalesund player. Until April 2018, the statue was named «The football player».[3]

Attendance
Eliteserien
Norwegian First Division
Attendance
Season Avg Min Max Rank Ref
2005 10,61810,37010,9035[6]
2006 9,9509,02810,7711[7]
2007 10,4759,68010,7807[8]
2008 10,3639,72410,7786[9]
2009 10,2189,40910,7786[10]
2010 10,1469,50010,7785[11]
2011 9,5658,78310,6775[12]
2012 9,1838,32410,2476[13]
2013 8,1926,92510,1016[14]
2014 7,6026,5809,3866[15]
2015 6,6965,6558,2877[16]
2016 6,3705,21510,0138[17]
2017 6,0625,1789,0628[18]
2018 4,8124,3625,5242[19]
2019 4,0993,4655,4952[20]

References
  1. "UEFA Europa League 2012/13 – Aalesunds FK". UEFA. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  2. "Which footballers have degrees?". The Guardian. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  3. "Endelig får Riise Navnet sitt på statuen: - Utrolig rørt og stolt" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  4. "Norge Menn U21" (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  5. "Lerkendal nest beste fotballbane" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  6. "Tilskuertall 2005". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  7. "Tilskuertall 2006". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  8. "Tilskuertall 2007". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  9. "Tilskuertall 2008". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  10. "Tilskuertall 2009". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  11. "Tilskuertall 2010". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  12. "Tilskuertall 2011". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  13. "Tilskuertall 2012". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  14. "Tilskuertall 2013". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  15. "Tilskuertall 2014". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  16. "Tilskuertall 2015". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  17. "Tilskuertall 2016". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  18. "Tilskuertall 2017". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  19. "Tilskuertall 2018". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  20. "Tilskuertall 2019". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 3 December 2019.

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