J.J. Ugland Stadion – Levermyr

J.J. Ugland Stadion – Levermyr, more commonly (and formerly) known as Levermyr stadion, is a multi-purpose stadium in Grimstad, Norway and home of the OBOS-ligaen team FK Jerv (men's football), the 1. Division team Amazon Grimstad (women's football), and Sørild FIK (athletics/track and field). The stadium itself is owned by the local municipality, and it located just a few hundred meters from the town centre, in the Levermyr area. Though opening as a multi-purpose arena in 1983, football have been played here for much longer. The capacity of the stadium is currently 1,750 (1,150 seats). The record attendance is around 8,000, from a national B-team men's football match between Norway and Finland in 1963, while Jerv's record is around 7,000 from a cup match against Viking in 1976.[2] Amazon Grimstad's record is 5,000 from a show match against BUL Oslo in the summer of 1970.[3] The more recent record attendance is some 3,000 in a cup clash between Jerv and rivals Start in 2010.[4]

J.J. Ugland Stadion - Levermyr
LocationGrimstad, Norway
Coordinates58.345500°N 8.591720°E / 58.345500; 8.591720
Capacity1,750 (by March 2015)
Construction
Built1983
Opened1983[1]
Tenants
FK Jerv (football)
Amazon Grimstad (football)
Sørild FIK (athletics)

Even though the stadium could hold well over 3,000 spectators fairly recently, the official current capacity is much lower. This is due to regulations from the Norwegian Football Association when Jerv was promoted to OBOS-ligaen before the 2015 season, and parts of the stadium had to be rebuilt to meet requirements.[5]

The stadium ran into problems in 2005, after being evaluated as inadequate by the Norwegian Athletics Association. This led to the licence for track and field being withdrawn.[6] The stadium eventually got its licence back, after upgrading the running track. On 28 November 2007, the municipality council decided that the stadium was to be renewed to meet the requirements of the Norwegian Football Association for Amazon's participation in Toppserien. Local shipowner and former Jerv player Johan Jørgen Ugland lent the municipality 20 million Norwegian kroner as an interest free loan to help the municipality upgrade the stadium. The building started in 2009, and Ugland later said he would cover any cost between 20 and 27 million kroner as the upgrade became more expensive than anticipated.[7] On 3 May 2010, about a month after Ugland's death, the municipality council decided to rename the stadium 'J.J. Ugland Stadion – Levermyr', just before the re-opening later the same month.[8] The before mentioned current upgrades for Jerv's participation in OBOS-ligaen are still ongoing, as floodlights are to be installed before the 2017 season and field heating before the 2018 season.

Jerv attendance
Norwegian First Division
Attendance
Season Avg Min Max Rank Ref
2015 1,0504411,7509[9]
2016 1,0747211,40610[10]

References
  1. "Levermyr Stadion : Statistics" (PDF). Friidrett.no. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  2. "FK Jervs historie". Novare.no. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  3. "Liungen Amazon, lørdag kl 1600". Liernett.no. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  4. "Start vant over Jerv - NRK Sørlandet - Lokale nyheter, TV og radio". Nrk.no. 2010-05-13. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  5. Anna Torp Kvasjord. "Opprykket kan bli kostbart". Gat.no. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  6. "Levermyr stadion stenges - NRK Sørlandet - Lokale nyheter, TV og radio". Nrk.no. 2005-03-01. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  7. Agderposten, p.9, 30 March 2010
  9. "Attendance 2015". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  10. "Attendance 2016". Norsk Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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