Controversy
The whole decision-making process, including the design and cost of the stadium, has been heavily criticised, both by supporters, media and the political opposition in Gothenburg. Points of criticism include the big mystery making and hastiness around the decision, the lack of visions including the tight and low budget, and the involvement of too much politics in the process. Some of the criticism was answered as the budget was slightly raised to allow closed corners, but several points were never discussed. One such example includes that the main inspiration was Brøndby Stadion, a stadium that now is undergoing an overhaul as the commercial areas were deemed insufficient.
Football expert and former editor of the football magazine Offside, Mattias Göransson, called the stadium an "amateur construction" which would lead to future conflicts, mentioning amongst other things the lack of restaurants, office space and parking garage. The current chairman, Anders Almgren, of the largest supporters' association in Gothenburg—Supporterklubben Änglarna supporting IFK Göteborg—wrote in a column that
| “ | the stadium currently on the drawing board, is in my eyes not good enough. It has a standard that at least the way I see it is equivalent to a stadium built in the 80s. | ” |
Read more about this topic: Gamla Ullevi
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