Opening of Friends Arena, Sweden's new national stadium

On, Saturday 27 October, Friends Arena in Stockholm, one of the largest multipurpose stadiums in Northern Europe, was opened. Friends Arena will be the home ground of Sweden's national football team and AIK, which plays in the Allsvenskan league. The stadium is able to hold 50,000 spectators for football matches and an audience of 65,000 for concerts and other events. Thanks to its retractable roof and interchangeable arena floor, Friends Arena (earlier Swedbank Arena) can be transformed to host a wide range of diverse events throughout the year. The opening ceremony has been described as Sweden's greatest spectacle of all times.

Ruukki delivered the steel pipe piles, was responsible for the manufacture and installation of the load-bearing steel structures and for the delivery and installation of the roofing elements for the arena between 2009 and 2011. The structures were made mainly at Ruukki's units in Ylivieska and Peräseinäjoki in Finland. The high degree of prefabrication of the structures sought to reduce construction risks and improve safety at the site.

Ruukki Optim high-strength special steels, among others, were used to manufacture the load-bearing truss structures of the arena. Use of special steels considerably reduced the steel requirement and thus resulted in clear cost savings.

Friends Arena is in Solna, near Stockholm, where the largest shopping centre in Scandinavia, Mall of Scandinavia, will be completed in autumn 2015. Ruukki is providing the steel structures for the shopping centre.

Ruukki, Helsinki