Malmö IP
The pitch at Malmö IP in 2006, seen from the Southern Stand
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| Full name | Malmö Idrottsplats |
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| Location | Pildammsvägen 13, 214 66, Malmö |
| Coordinates | 55°35′42″N 12°59′44″E / 55.59500°N 12.99556°E |
| Owner | Malmö Stad |
| Operator | Malmö Stad |
| Capacity | 7,600 (3,900 seated) |
| Field size | 66 by 105 metres (217 ft × 344 ft) |
| Surface | Artificial turf |
| Construction | |
| Built | March – July 1896 |
| Opened | 4 July 1896 |
| Renovated | 1978–1980, 1999 |
| Tenants | |
| Malmö Velocipedklubb (1896–1900) IFK Malmö (1903–1958, 1999–2008) MAI (1908–1958) Malmö FF (1910–1958, 1999) FC Rosengård (2006–present) |
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Malmö Idrottsplats ("Malmö sports field"), commonly referred to simply as Malmö IP and sometimes as Gamla IP ("The old sports field"), is a stadium in Malmö, Sweden, that is primarily used for association football. As of 2015, it is the home of women's association football club FC Rosengård, currently playing in Damallsvenskan; the men's clubs Malmö FF and IFK Malmö have played there in the past. The stadium is the third largest in Malmö behind Malmö Stadion and Swedbank Stadion, the current home grounds of IFK Malmö and Malmö FF respectively. The Sweden national football team has played at Malmö IP twice, in 1929 and 1949. The stadium's capacity has changed throughout the years with various redevelopments and renovations; it is today 7,600, but was historically much higher. The record attendance at the ground was set on 1 June 1956 when 22,436 people attended an Allsvenskan match between Malmö FF and Helsingborgs IF.
The stadium was built as a multi-purpose sports field between March and July 1896 with a grand opening on 4 July 1896. IFK Malmö took up residence at the ground in 1903, with Malmö FF also doing so seven years later; both remained until 1958, when they moved to Malmö Stadion, which had just been built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Extensive redevelopment and restoration was carried out between 1978 and 1980, and in 1999; the two Malmö clubs returned following this latter renovation, but Malmö FF went back to Malmö Stadion after a single season. The laying of artificial turf before the 2008 season led IFK to return to Malmö Stadion in protest. The stadium is located on the northern side of Malmö's largest park, Pildammsparken, with Malmö Stadion and Swedbank Stadion both to the park's south.
Malmö IP was built in 1896 to host cycling, gymnastics, wrestling, athletics and tennis events. Cycling competitions had been organised by Malmö Velocipedklubb (MVK) since 24 August 1890, at a temporary sports field in Rörsjöstaden. This was also the venue for the first association football match in Malmö, a friendly match on 12 October 1890 featuring Kjøbenhavns Boldklub of Denmark. The members of MVK were impressed by the new sport and started a football section of their own. After the Rörsjöstaden field was earmarked for a new housing development in 1893, MVK began to explore the idea of a new ground. The club pitched this to the local municipality, Malmö Stad, which in February 1894 presented plans for a new sports field in the north-east of the city, in what is today Teatern, a neighbourhood in Innerstaden district. The MVK board consulted its members, then agreed and signed a 15-year lease on the site.
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