Idrottens arenor - en satsning på gott och ont

Sammanfattning: In recent times, Sweden has experienced a boom in the construction of new arenas, which constitutes a good example of modern day planning in the country. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what these arenas symbolise and what sets of values influence and possibly alter the decision-making processes surrounding the construction of the arenas. The analyses are based on the theories of neoliberalism, entrepreneurialism, multi-level actors in the planning process as well as theories of political decision-making. Two cases are presented and analysed in the paper. The source material consists mainly of newspaper articles, planning documents and interviews. When considering the cases it is clear that these projects are results of an ambition to enhance the attractiveness of a city, while also being a means of allowing sports teams to become important for marketing and branding a city. The size of the projects and the urgency of not falling behind other cities tend to create pressures which hasten decision-making processes. This results in parts of the bureaucracy usually involved in such decisions being left out. This paper shows not only that the decision-making processes differ from case to case, but also suggests that the pattern of arena investment can be viewed as a way of marketing the city.