The Liseberg Hall was demolished during the winter and spring of 2019 to make way for the train tunnel West Link.
A hard hit for the handball team Redbergslids IK who had the Lisebergshallen as their home ground. But despite it being clear for several years that the arena would be demolished, RIK has not been given a new permanent arena, and such a decision does not seem imminent.
That's why the team plays this season and the next in Scandinavium. But when the home premiere was to be played against IFK Skövde on Wednesday, the match had to be canceled after almost two minutes due to condensation, which caused players to slip.
When the match will be played clearly is not determined, but everything indicates that Redbergslid will play in Scandinavium in the future, despite the premiere debacle.
- Nothing else is presented to us and we see no other solution. The halls mentioned in the media are not approved by the Handball Association, so we are not the ones who opt out. It is the union that has rules and in order to have an exemption for a smaller arena, one must have a building ready in the municipality of Gothenburg for the future, says RIK's sports manager Henrik Lundström to SVT Sport.
- Whether we want to or not, we are set to play in Scandinavium. We had a spring season where it worked without problems with the ground, but last Wednesday it was like blown away.
How do you view this situation that has arisen with the arena issue?
- Obviously it is an unfortunate situation for our entire club. We talk a lot about the elite business and our A-team, but for us who work within the association, it is most talked about that the young people cannot see their idols in a common hall. Then the situation with Scandinavium is good. It is a central location and we want to be a central club. We want a hall as close as possible to our members, and most members are located in central Gothenburg, Örgryte and Härlanda.
In what way have you been pushing for the city of Gothenburg in recent years for a new arena?
- We have had meetings in principle every week for at least six years. The club has raised the issue since 2013-2014, when it was already known then that Lisebergshallen would not stay that long. We have been pushing but can not do much more, it is their decision in the end, says Lundström.