Ljungheden also known as the Hejla Arena (for sponsorship purposes) is a motorcycle speedway track located in the north western outskirts of Västervik. The track is on the Stora Infartsvägen road and forms part of the Westerviks Motorsportklubb.[1][2][3]

Ljungheden
LocationStora Infartsvägen, 593 22 Västervik, Sweden
Coordinates57°46′07″N 16°35′17″E / 57.76861°N 16.58806°E / 57.76861; 16.58806
Capacity9,000
OperatorVästervik Speedway
Opened8 May 1952
Length(296 metres) 0.296 km

The stadium hosts the Västervik Speedway speedway team that compete in the Swedish Speedway Team Championship[4] and have been champions of Sweden on one occasion.[5]

History

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Action from Ljungheden in 2007

The stadium opened on 8 May 1952.[6] The record attendance of 9,398 was set on 3 October 2007.

In 1994, the stadium hosted the Swedish Individual Speedway Championship[7] and in 1997 and 2001 it held the Intercontinental final.[8]

From 2011 to 2018, the stadium was known as the Stena Arena[9] It hosted events as part of the 2016 Speedway World Cup and 2017 Speedway World Cups.

In 2018, the stadium was renamed the Hejla Arena following sponsorship from the laser and gas cutting company Hejla Skärteknik.[10]

Track names

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  • Västerviks Motorstadion, Västerviks Motorbana (1952-2008)
  • Sparbanken Arena (2008–2010)
  • Stena Arena (2011–2018)
  • Hejla Arena (2018–present)

Track records

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Track dimension changes

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  • 340m, (1972, 1979)
  • 331m, (1981–1982)
  • 285m, (1985)
  • 286m, (1986–1987)
  • 310m, (1990–1996)
  • 296m, (2000–2013)

Stats[11]

References

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  1. ^ "VASTERVIK- Sweden". Speedway Plus. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Welcome to Hejla Arena". Skepparna Speedway. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Hejla Arena Vestervik". Zuzelend. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Speedway Around The Globe - Sweden". Speedway Star. 23 July 2022. pp. 38–39.
  5. ^ "Home". Västervik Speedway Club. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Hejla Arena". Elit Speedway. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  7. ^ "HISTORICAL RESULTS 1948-2015". Speedway History. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  8. ^ Bamford, Reg (2004). Speedway Yearbook. Tempus Publishing, Stroud. ISBN 978-0-7524-2955-7.
  9. ^ "Speedwayarenan byter namn". Vasterviks Tidningen. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  10. ^ "We support Västervik Speedway". Hejla Skärteknik. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  11. ^ "History of Västervik Speedway". Skepparna Speedway. Retrieved 29 November 2023.